Freesia and Magnolia Petals
by IAmStoryteller
Summary: As Kirsch's impending wedding grows closer, Zora becomes more and more irritable. It doesn't help that he and Kirsch gets thrown into a mission together that's more dangerous than it seems. PART 4 of Gladiolus Verse (Black Clover Canon Divergent AU) (NOTE: Read Parts 1-2 Especially to Understand)
1. Chapter 1

WELL WELL! The second of the three sequels to Gladiolus is started now. I'm SO excited for this one. Zora/Kirsch is one of the ships that I just love!

Who's ready for awkwardness and character growth?!

This is taking the place at the same time as Bellflowers (the first sequel that basically is about Original Characters so no one's reading it)  
therefore, it's one month after the epilogue of Gladiolus

* * *

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Shopping District**  
**Evening, just after the Magic Knights Entrance Exams**

Zora never knew how he got himself into these situation as he walked between Kirsch and Mimosa Vermillion just after dinnertime through the shopping district of the Capital. Today Zora had been forced to help test the examinees wanting to join the Magic Knights, and while he tried to escape once his duties were done, he was grabbed by Mimosa. The Golden Dawn only got one new kid this time around and the new kids were always handed over to Klaus, meaning that Mimosa had some free time.

Mimosa also grabbed her brother, who didn't have any new kids to deal with this time and therefore some spare time, and she wanted them both to come with her to find Children's' Day gifts for Mereoleona's three hellions. Zora wasn't big on children, but he was socially required to buy gifts nowadays for the children he knew which included Asta's kid siblings, Mereoleona's girls, and of course, Marie. (And if he already bought the presents that was his business, alright?)

Zora kind of hated himself for giving in so easily, but it wasn't his fault that he was weak to Mimosa's big doe eyes. He was too fond of her and she knew it. Where did that shy girl go who only muttered snarky things under her breathe?

"And so I was thinking about getting Blue some more storybooks now that she's gotten into reading," said Mimosa, cheerfully, holding Kirsch's hand. (Zora put his foot down when she tried the first time ages ago. He was not the hand-holding type of a guy). "What do you think?" She looked at Zora when she asked the question.

"Suppose that's good," said Zora, shrugging, nonchalantly as possible.

"Come on, Zora, I'm the worst at gifting people," said Mimosa, pleading.

"Blue likes the adventure stories."

Kirsch snorted. "How do you know that?"

"Leo mentioned to Asta," replied Zora. "Now are we going to the bookstore or not? As much as I don't hate either of you, I have other things to do."

Kirsch decidedly looked away, finding something interesting in one of the store fronts, but Zora saw the blush go to Kirsch's ears. Zora really had to learn how to word things better.

"Aww, I love you too, Zora," said Mimosa. This wasn't said in a joking manner, she was dead serious. She meant it. Zora was able to tell by her tone.

Zora froze in his tracks and so did Kirsch. Kirsch looked mildly confused. Zora wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Slowly, Zora responded, "Don't think your boyfriend will like that."

"Oh, not like that, Zora! Geez! I love you like another brother," said Mimosa, giving him a beaming loving smile that made Zora's feel very strange. "Sometimes my preferred brother…"

"Hey, that's mean, don't be mean to me, Mimosa," said Kirsch, pouting. Zora had to smirk at the banter between the two siblings.

"Don't worry, I love you too, Kirsch," said Mimosa, consolingly. "Now, which bookstore should we go get these books for Blue?"

An hour later, Mimosa got books for Blue, a new sleeping mask for Sabriel, and a new dress for Hanima. It was a successful shopping trip and Zora hate himself for sticking around the entire time. They made their way back to the Magic Knight Headquarters, Zora and Kirsch were seeing Mimosa off as she had a date with Langris.

"Thanks for coming with me, guys," said Mimosa, kissing her brother on the cheek. Zora glared at her, daring her to try and kiss him, instead, she went for a brief hug that he sort of returned. He really wasn't used to all the affection that the Black Bulls and Mimosa wanted to give him. "I'll see you both soon. Love you." She ran off as Langris exited a Captain's meeting.

"She gives me hives," said Zora, annoyed.

"I think I should be insulted that she likes you better than me," replied Kirsch, easily, but not offended. To say that things had been awkward between the two of them for last three months was an understatement. It was all well and fine having their normal bantering and bickering on missions or meetings, but then either Zora said something or Kirsch said something or someone else mentioned something and Zora would remember the fact that Kirsch was in love with him.

"You're her brother, for better or for worse," responded Zora. "Now, I really do have to go. I have sleep to catch up and paperwork to do."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I've got paperwork too," said Kirsch, cringing at the thought. As Captain Dorothy was asleep, Zora knew that Kirsch had to do all the Captain's paperwork in addition to his own Vice-Captain's paperwork. "Well, I'll see you around, Zora. Make sure you eat regularly or I'll sic my mother on you."

Zora glared. "You keep threatening that but I doubt your mother has time with the amount of missions she takes."

Kirsch smiled magnanimously, "She'd find the time. Trust me on this."

"Uh, you Vermillions and your aggressive caring."

"It's what we do."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Blue Rose Headquarters**  
**Kitchens**  
**Nighttime**

Kirsch entered the kitchens of the Blue Rose Headquarters through their backdoor where he was hit with the smell of cake in the air. His mother was still in her battle armor, but she was busy decorating cupcakes. Smiling, he greeted his mother, "Whose birthday is it?"

"Lerola," replied his mother, Lady Nickole. "I just have enough time to make the cupcakes before heading out on a mission tomorrow morning."

"Mother, I thought we talked about you slowing down a bit," said Kirsch, crossing his arms and sighing.

"Bah, I'm fine, Kirsch. I'm not that old yet," said his mother. "So, how's your sister?"

"She's good. She spooked Zora today with a profession that she loved him like a brother," said Kirsch. He didn't intend to drop the topic of his mother taking a break, or at least, taking less missions. In Kirsch's opinion, his mother done more than enough and deserved some time for herself.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and how are things between you and him? Still a bit awkward?"

"It's getting better," said Kirsch, flushing. "But that's not why I came by to see you. The wedding is in nine months. I need you to meet with Lady Esmond to plan the wedding."

His mother gave him such a look. "Kirsch, please, no don't make me do this, can't your father do it?"

"Father has a garish sense of décor, Mother. This is the only wedding I'll have, so I want it to be the best," said Kirsch, giving his mother his best pleading look.

She groaned. "The things I do for you kids. Fine. When I come back from my mission, I'll go and meet with Lady Esmond. I'm sure that will go splendidly." She said that last part under her breathe. His mother wasn't thrilled with Kirsch's decision to go on with the betrothal, but she knew not to change his mind.

"Just don't fight Lady Esmond, Mother, please."

"No promises."

"Mother!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks' Headquarters**  
**About an hour later**

After the conversation with his mother, Kirsch finally reached the doors of home—the Coral Peacock Headquarters. It was nighttime and everyone should have been in their rooms. But as he stepped inside, it was bedlam. Kirsch felt his blood pressure rising. He yelled, "Levi! What in God's name is happening?"

The foyer of the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters was filled with multi-colored soap bubbles, the "kids" (their squad members under the age of 18) were running amuck while Levi Roe, Barry Morton and Cornelia Franklin were trying to corral them. Different magic affinities were clearly in use. Levi yelled back, frustrated, "Someone decided it was a good flipping idea to whisper things in the Captain's ears and things are appearing out of thin air!"

Kirsch's eye twitched. He took out his grimoire and cleared the bubbles. He shouted, "If I don't have _every single one of you_ in front of me in ten seconds, the _**entire**_ squad will be doing nothing but chores until _kingdom come_!" His squad knew he was quite serious. Kirsch took cleanliness seriously, so everyone in earshot lined up in a row, even Levi, Barry and Cornelia (Senior Class Knights). "Now, who is the ring leader and let me tell you no one is moving until I get a damn answer. I've got all night."

Unfortunately, not everyone in the squad was in the row (either because they were out on a mission, Kirsch recalling he did have three Magic Knights out on one or because they were too far away to hear him), and Kirsch should have seen this coming, as a lemon meringue pit appeared out of nowhere and landed right on Kirsch's head.

Kirsch was not happy.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Base**  
**Living Room**  
**About the time that Kirsch got the Coral Peacocks' HQ**

"Oh My God, let go of me, you clingy bastards," said Zora, struggling to be released from the grip of Magna, Vanessa, Charmy, Luck and Gordon. He just wanted to go to sleep. There was too much of feelings today and he was too tired to deal with his stupid friends at the moment. But they were not having it today.

"But we missed you, Zora," said Charmy, attempting to shove a piece of cake in his face. "Eat! Eat!"

"No cake at night, Charmy," replied Zora. "Damnit, let go!"

"You never hang out with us when you're home, Zora," complained Vanessa. "Instead, you're too busy going off to hang out with Kirsch!" Why was Vanessa so unnaturally observant sometimes? "I know you gotta hang with him before he gets married, but don't forget about us!"

Zora growled, scaring Charmy and Gordon off of him but not the other three. "Shut up! This is enough! I'm going to my room. Do. Not. Bother. Me." Despite having Luck, Magna and Vanessa hanging on him, Zora walked toward the stairs, attempting to kick them off. Once on the stairs, he got enough leverage to break free from the drunk, clingy assholes and run to his room.

He got to his room and went in, slamming the door shut and making sure to lock it. He sighed. "Fuckers."

Zora flopped on his bed, fully intending to get more than three hours of sleep. But what Vanessa mentioned nagged at Zora in his head. Kirsch was in love with him, Zora Ideale, but Zora didn't return the romantic feelings, but saw Kirsch as a friend. Kirsch was getting married in 9 months, 3 days, to a noble lady from the Esmond House.

And Zora hated it. He hated the fact that Kirsch was getting married to someone who didn't love the pretty boy Vice-Captain of the Coral Peacocks. He hated that Kirsch didn't get a choice in the matter. Marriage was a big deal in the Clover Kingdom. When someone got married, you didn't just legally bind yourself to another person until death do they part, but you magically bound yourself to them. The partners to be married wrote their names in the others' grimoire in their blood.

He remembered when his father, Zara, showed Zora the page where Zora's mother had written her name in her blood binding herself to Zora's father on their wedding day. His mother had died when Zora was three, maybe four, and while he barely remembered, he knew that losing his mother hurt his father in a way that he couldn't understand. So, yeah, Zora was angry on behalf of Kirsch, who just agreed to it like an idiot. Of course, Zora knew it was to protect Mimosa from any house politics (not that it mattered since Mimosa was dating Langris, who was an acceptable match for her anyway).

Kirsch's happiness mattered. Zora may not be in love with Kirsch, but Zora would be damned if Kirsch tied himself legally and magically to a woman who wouldn't treat Kirsch well. He didn't know the woman's first name, but he knew how to find someone who would tell him all about the woman.

Clarity Esmond will be getting a visit tomorrow morning, Zora decided before his mind finally decided to let him rest.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Azure Deer Headquarters**  
**Courtyard**  
**The Next Day**

"Mr. Zora, what can I do for you," asked Clarity Esmond, the 22-year-old ink magic affinity wizard and the 4th Class Senior Magic Knight of the Azure Deer squad. She was usually overly polite, when her head wasn't in the clouds or her hands weren't busy with her art. Zora had worked with her a couple of times, and she was an airhead in his opinion but she was far from stupid.

Zora stood in the courtyard of the Azure Deer Headquarters, after sneaking out before breakfast at the Black Bulls' Base, though he did take some granola to eat on the way because Charmy would murder him if he didn't eat properly. Somehow Charmy always knew if you were lying about eating. He merely intended to get a read from Clarity about the girl's older sister, for Zora's peace of mind. If the lady that Kirsch was marrying was like Clarity, Zora wouldn't have to worry because Clarity was a good sort of woman and took good care of her favorite person (i.e. Rill). "Kirsch is marrying your sister. What's she like?" Zora was not going to beat around the bush.

Clarity's brown eyes sharpened at the mention of her sister. "Why do you want to know?" She sounded particularly defensive, for whatever reason.

"Kirsch is my…_friend_. I just want to make sure that the woman he's marrying will be good to him," said Zora, bluntly. "If you didn't realize, he's got a personality that you have to get used to and he can be annoying, but he's reliable when it counts."

Smiling, Clarity replied, "Oh. Um, I don't think I'm the person you should ask."

"She's your sister, ain't she?"

"She and I don't get along, so I'm afraid that my answer would be…biased," said Clarity, softly.

Zora made a face. "Usually, siblings know all the shit parts of each other. Talk."

It took the blonde-haired artist a minute to think. "Fine, but just don't take my word for it." Zora nodded and waited for her to continue. "My sister is the middle child. I have an older brother who is the heir to the Esmond Noble House. He's a moron, just for reference. My sister, on the other hand, is very book smart intelligent. She's a professor at Clover University, her expertise is philosophy."

"Uh, philosophy," grunted Zora. What was the point of philosophers? In Zora's opinion, they were just failed historians and literary people.

"I know right," said Clarity, continuing. And then, everything that Zora wanted to know came spilling out of her mouth in a rush like she was ashamed to feel that way, "But that's about what she does, you're looking for what kind of person she is. She's not nice, Mr. Zora. She's condescending and mean to anyone she doesn't like. She thinks being a Magic Knight is a waste of time for nobles and royals that we should just let the commoners fight. She doesn't like kids and if she and Vice-Captain Kirsch were to have kids, he'd be the one to raise them. And while I think Vice-Captain Kirsch will try to make the best of it, she won't work with him. They haven't met yet, but I know that it's going to go badly." She breathed in and out.

"When do they meet?"

"Well, it has to be after the mothers of both meet for the first time, but usually the betrothed in these situations don't meet until 6 months before the wedding," said Clarity. She shrugged. "Vice-Captain Kirsch can do better." Then, she went back to her ink artwork and back into her own world, ignoring Zora.

Knowing that he wasn't getting any more out of her, he left, but now he was worried about Kirsch's impending marriage even more. Zora wished earnestly that he didn't care.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**Office of the Wizard King**  
**Mid-morning**

Kirsch didn't know why he was being called to the Wizard King's office, but it must be important to be so unplanned. Despite the few problems they had a few months ago (like Kirsch almost dying because of a curse), the Magic Knights led by Fuegoleon Vermillion tended to like planned meetings since they all had a lot to do. But if his cousin needed him, Kirsch went to the Capital without much fuss, leaving Levi in charge of making sure the kids did the chores (with threats of putting in the new titles in the bathrooms).

He entered the Magic Knight' Headquarters. It was quiet that morning, no one was rushing about panicking.

"Ah, it's you," said Zora, who came in after Kirsch and quickly caught up to Kirsch. They walked side-by-side. "You got called by him too?"

"Yeah," said Kirsch, suddenly very concerned if Fuegoleon called both Kirsch (a Vice-Captain) and Zora (a 5th Class Senior Magic Knight) than it must be important. It was especially strange considering that Zora tended to get sent out missions that were needed to be handle with discretion.

Zora seemed to realize the same thing as him, because they both hurried to the door of the Wizard King's office. Kirsch knocked and Fuegoleon called for him to come inside. The Wizard King, Fuegoleon Vermillion, the heir of the Vermillion House and Kirsch's older cousin sat there and he didn't look well. Marx wasn't in the room with him, in fact, things were very quiet today in headquarters.

"Holy shit, what the fuck is the matter with you," asked Zora, incredulously. "You look like shit."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Zora," said Fuegoleon, wryly.

"What's going on," asked Kirsch, before Zora got himself in trouble with that mouth of his.

"I have a favor to ask of both of you," replied Fuegoleon.

Zora snorted. "The unofficial kind, huh? Alright, I'll bite, what do you need done?"

"I need you two to go to Grimmtowne and find Sal," said Fuegoleon. "She left three months ago to investigate rumors of a demon and she's been dark for a month. Knowing her and asking Julius, she's never gone more than 2 weeks without communications. Marx can't get in touch with her."

"And because she's your wife, you can't be seen playing favorites. The general rule if someone goes missing, an investigation can't start until it's been a half-a-year, due to the lack of resources," finished Zora, arms crossed. "But knowing Sal, she's probably fine."

"That's what my head tells me, but I can't help but be worried," replied Fuegoleon. "If she's fine, then there's a good reason why she hasn't sent updates. But if she's not, I want you two there yesterday."

Kirsch understood. Sal was family. Fuegoleon risked everything to be allowed to marry Sal. "Of course, I'll go. Grimmtowne you say? Ah that's where the lady who wrote the fairy tales lived…guess they're not fairy tales…"

"I'm in," said Zora. "We'll head out as soon as we get some supplies and Kirsch sends orders to his squad."

Fuegoleon looked very grateful. "Thank you. I can't tell you how hard is it not just to go myself."

"Sal's probably fine," said Kirsch, smiling reassuringly at his cousin. "But we'll get to the bottom of everything."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Gates of the City**  
**Noon**

After leaving the Wizard King's office, Kirsch rushed off to the communication room in the Magic Knight Headquarters to talk to Levi, while Zora went to get supplies in town. Zora always left the Black Bulls with his travel bag out of pure habit, but the main thing was to get a medical kit and some other items just in case they had to deal with a demon or who knew what else. He was just waiting for Kirsch to show up at the gates of the Capital.

If Fuegoleon was worried about Sal, Zora was worried too. Zora met Sal shortly after Yami gave him the Black Bulls robe when he was like 16 or 17. Sal had been sent to check him out by Julius, there was no doubt about that in Zora's mind. She was an alright person and she didn't stop him from doing what he did to unworthy Magic Knights. Other than Lady Prospekt (that's a whole other story that no one had gotten out of him yet), his father Zara, Captain Mereoleona, Sal was one person that Zora would safely admit that he looked towards for guidance in his actions.

"Sorry, it took so long," said Kirsch, as rushed over to him. "The kids have been in trouble since last night, so I had to give them more chores. And Fuego's gonna send Asta over to check on them."

"When's Captain Dorothy waking up again," asked Zora.

Kirsch made a face. "Probably not until the Winter Festival. Got everything?"

"Yeah," said Zora, nodding. "Glad you changed to something less bright. We're flying most of the way and then finish by getting into town under the cover of night. Let's go."

"We'll find Sal, don't scowl so much. You'll get wrinkles," said Kirsch, teasingly.

"Aw, shut up and get on your damn broom, Kirsch."

_Ch. End_

* * *

Ahhh, so there's chapter one. I'll be doing a chapter a month for this story until it's complete. So please let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Town Square Inn**  
**The evening of their departure from the Capital**

"Are you sure this is going to work," muttered Kirsch to Zora, as they sat in the dingy tavern of the only inn in the town.

Zora scoffed, normally lower-face black mask off, so as not to stand out, which was honestly quite distracting Kirsch. Why was Zora so handsome? "Who's got more experience investigating shit, dumbass?"

Kirsch scowled and adjusted the hat that Zora forced on his beautiful blond head of hair. Kirsch hated hats, but he understood that he'd also stand out. He rolled his eyes at Zora. "Fine. Let's just be careful."

"Once the drinks start coming, the lips start moving," said Zora. He stopped talking when the waitress came over with two bowls of stew and two big mugs of ale (the house special) for them. "Thanks." She left them, immediately as she was being called over to another table. "Eat. You still need to bulk up after almost dying."

Staring at the muddy brown meat-and-tato stew, Kirsch knew better than to complain about food in front of Zora. He took the spoon and scoops a bit of it. It was super salty, but filling and warm at least. Kirsch focused on eating, lest he get scolded again by his mother. (Should he be concerned that his mother and Zora have bonded as comrades so much?)

Zora was focused on the men and women, there after a long day's work, in the inn's tavern. They were eating and drinking and just generally decompressing.

Most of the conversations Kirsch managed to hear were mundane things—complaining about rent and money in general, complaining that the Magic Knights were never around when things got tough, and complaining about their kids and/or spouse and/or parents. He knew that he had to be looking for someone that may have spotted Sal. The duo knew that Sal definitely made it to the town, as she did check in briefly at one point.

"Alright, you stay here and keep an ear out," said Zora.

Kirsch nodded. It would be best to split up and double their odds of finding information. Honestly, it was just so nice not to have work with people he had to baby. Zora and Kirsch were both strong and capable in their own right, so working together made sense and they usually got the job done quickly. "Fine. Be careful."

"I'm always careful," replied Zora, glibly. "You're the one that needs to be careful.

"Sure," Kirsch retorted, knowing full well that Zora Ideale was not always careful as he claimed. "Get me if you find out anything."

"Yeah."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Back streets**  
**Same evening**

Zora left Kirsch in the inn's tavern. He wasn't about to take Kirsch to the worst spots in town. Every town had a dark side, as Zora learned early on in his travels. Kirsch may be a competent Magic Knight Vice-Captain, but he was also a royal, who tended to put his foot in his mouth. The last thing he needed was Kirsch being marked as easy prey. That was not to say that Kirsch was easy prey to anyone, but people tended to judge someone based on their appearance and Kirsch was generally fancy, pretty and rich-looking.

Generally, the homeless, the pick-pockets, drunks and drug-infested people gathered around in the same area, no matter the town. It was like they were all attracted to each other like a moth to the flame. Just a few blocks away from the inn, Zora found the "hidden" side of Grimmtowne.

Zora sighed and made his way down the street, giving off a menacing aura, to ward off the pick-pockets, but not so much that it scared the homeless away. He found that the homeless people were just so poor or affected by a mental illness that they couldn't function in normal society, but they were the most helpful.

He found a group huddled around a fire in a trash bin. Zora called out to them, but not getting too close, so not to startle anyone. "Hey, have any of you seen black-haired and gray-eyed woman about this tall asking about Grimm Castle?" He gestured to Sal's approximate height on his body.

"Nope."

"G'away."

"Nah."

"Talk to Old Baba," said one of the people. "She knows everything going on in this God-forsaken town."

Zora asked, "Where can I find this Old Baba?"

"Usually hangs off of Market Street, peddling her "medicine,"" replied the same person, pointing east.

"Thanks."

Zora headed towards Market Street, looking for an old woman selling medicine. She was easy to spot. The wrinkled blob that was Old Baba had seen better days. Zora held back a cringe as he approached her, noting the heavy, heavy smell of "medicine."

"5 for 5, young man," said the old woman, breathing heavily, and eyes barely open.

"You Old Baba?"

"Hmm? Who's asking?"

"I'm looking for a woman. She's got black hair and gray eyes. Average height and built. May have been asking about Grimm Castle a couple of months ago. Word is that you know everything in this town," said Zora, easily, pulling out some coins to give to the old woman.

"Ahhh, yes, the Magic Knight lady. Yes, yes, I am starting to recall," said Old Baba, putting out her hand.

Rolling his eyes, he gave her more coins. "So, you've talked to her?"

"Haven't seen her in a month. But yes, she asked me about the old castle," said Old Baba. "She went in last month and never came out. Assume she's dead, just like the others."

Steeling himself, Zora asked, "What exactly did you tell her about the castle?"

"That a demon lives there and kidnaps people of this town to eat them at regular intervals," said Old Baba, motioning for more coins.

Sal was going to owe him, as he put more coins in the old woman's gnarled hands. "No one's actually seen the demon. Sometimes, foolish young men go into the castle on dares or to save someone, but they never come out. Be warned, young man! Grimm Castle is not a playground. That girl shouldn't have been asking such questions. We just learn to live with it."

Zora scowled, as he gave the woman more coins. "Thanks for the info, old lady." It sounded like Sal must have sprung some sort of ancient trap and was stuck inside the castle.

He rushed back to the inn, wasting no time and pulling Kirsch out of there, as the royal man was about to throw hands with some of the people in there. Honesty, Zora left Kirsch alone for like an hour and he was picking fights with the locals.

"Easy, idiot. Sal definitely went into the castle," said Zora, dragging Kirsch out of the inn's tavern, after throwing more money at the barkeeper. Zora explained to Kirsch what he learned.

Kirsch calmed his temper down and sighed. "Basically, that's what I overheard, when someone mentioned the demons plaguing the kingdom. They were talking about Asta again."

"Fuck 'em," said Zora, growling. "We gotta find Sal. I suspect ancient magical traps. We're going into the castle at daybreak."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Castle Gates**  
**Daybreak**

Kirsch honestly had a problem. How did he just let Zora talk Kirsch into going to the Castle without gathering more information on the place? Kirsch didn't like the idea of them going into the Castle blind. He told Zora that he wanted to wait a few days to gather information, maybe search the perimeter. In true Black Bulls' fashion, Zora was charging headlong and there was no way that Kirsch was letting Zora go into that creepy castle that was a shadow over the town by himself. Kirsch had to have Zora's back. They were a team.

It was just that Kirsch knew all the old fairy tales that came out of the Grimmtowne mythology about adventurous princes, lost princesses, witches and brave peasants overcoming adversity to help the royals. Most of the Vermillion and Silva Houses were raised on those stories. It was probably due to the fairy tales that Kirsch sometimes had grandiose ideas about being a Magic Knight.

Zora never heard the fairy tales, which made sense. Most peasants' education didn't go beyond the holy texts of the Church. And if by chance they were aware of them, it was most likely the most famous of the fairy tales "the Prince and the Peasant," equal parts love story and adventure.

While Kirsch understood Zora's haste, being that he was friend with Sal, Kirsch didn't want him, or Sal, or Zora to get hurt because they didn't think things through and now that he thought about it, this was probably why Fuegoleon sent him on the mission in the first place. His job was, in fact, to look after Zora. Zora definitely wouldn't like that if Kirsch said it out loud.

They stood before the dilapidated, dark and damp, castle's gate. The gate was one of the few things that remained mostly intact. Kirsch already sensed the angry, ancient magic from the castle. It made him nauseous.

"You worry too much."

"I worry too much? You worry as much as me," responded Kirsch, annoyed. "I just think we should take one more day to see if we can find a weakness somewhere. I do not like the magic I sense from this place."

"Well, I don't like it either, which is why Sal must be in a trap of some kind and can't get on her own," replied Zora. "It's better that it's two of us, less likely to get caught by whatever's in there."

Kirsch made a disgusted face, because he was really disgusted with himself. "Fine. Let's fine Sal and get back home."

Zora nodded and together, the two opened the Castle gate and entered the ground. Immediately, they were draped in ancient mana that had Kirsch getting goosebumps.

And when the gate slammed behind them, Kirsch said, "I told you so."

"You were just waiting to say that, weren't you?"

Kirsch chose to ignore him and moved forward. The grounds outside had seen better days. From what Kirsch was able to recall from the stories, Grimm Castle was the winter home for the royal families, taken care of during the rest of the year by the Grimm Noble family. The style of architecture indicated the castle was constructed in older days.

There was no door on the castle, so they just entered the main remaining castle building. "Is that a mold smell on top of the ancient mana?"

"Unfortunately, I think so," said Zora. "Let me know how your breathing goes here."

Kirsch nodded. While he was mostly healed from the horrendous event, the flower buildup in his lungs, damaged his lungs to the point where he technically should still be on bed rest. Sometimes, he caught himself being short of breath. Due to the fact that Kirsch and Yuno were the last ones cured, the effects of the curse were remembered. Yuno had it worse, in Kirsch's opinion, as Yuno's throat got torn up quite badly.

"We'll search room by room," said Kirsch.

"Agreed."

**Clover Kingdom Fairy Tale**  
**The Prince and the Peasant**  
**Part 1**

Once upon a time, there was a brave and handsome Clover Prince. The youngest of many brothers, he was left to travel the kingdom, using his starlight magic, to protect the denizens of the Kingdom. He faced evil warlords, corrupt nobles, terrible witches, rogue wizards, and the monsters that went bump in the night. Everyone loved the young heroic Prince.

Everyone that is, except the Prince's oldest brother, who ascended the throne of Clover after the death of their steady, righteous father, the previous King. Jealous, petty and half-as-gifted in mana, the new King hated his youngest brother, beloved by all. He strived to take his brother down in secret, sending mercenaries and assassins after the young Prince.

The heroic Prince, however, was far too skilled and eagle-eyed to be taken down by hired hands. Day after day for a year, our hero defended himself against rogue and criminal. This, of course, angered the  
King, so the King went to a witches' coven, who lived outside the control of the Witch Queen, to hire them to take down his youngest brother.

Facing one witch was tough enough, and while skilled and powerful, the Prince was no match for an entire coven of witches. He fought and he fought to surpass his limits, but the witches' coven had the Prince cornered on all sides. It was in that moment he knew that he was going to die and he was strangely okay with it.

But an unexpected savior arrived. The young woman had shadow magic, but low mana, but her interference gave the Prince enough time to take down the witches. Once they were knocked out, he and his savior fled the scene until enough distance was between them and the witches.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Miss."

The young woman refused his thanks, claiming that anyone would have stepped in, but he found that she didn't look at him when she spoke softly.

"May I have your name, Miss?"

"You may not, Your Highness," responded the woman. "I'm a mere peasant. You need not worry about me."

In the midst of the conversation, he finally saw her eyes clearly. His savior was blind, but it didn't diminish his good opinion on her, even if she was a bit rude. He wondered how she knew that he was a  
Prince. He asked her just that question.

"It's the way you speak, Your Highness. Way too polite to a person like me."

Despite her reluctance, he insisted that he escort her home as repayment for helping him, and she agreed, if only to get him to leave her alone faster. Along the way, the conversations with her tended to go the same way. It slightly frustrated him that she was dismissive of herself.

Eventually, they reached her home in the woods, some ways from the nearest town. A man, presumably her father was waiting for her. "Are you alright? Where have you been?"

And the Prince recognized the man from his youth in the Capital. The man was once a soldier, a bodyguard from the royal capital, who taught the Prince how to use his magic in combat. This man was once his teacher.

The man recognized him as well.

"Your Highness, thank you for bringing my wayward daughter home. She's always getting into trouble."

He was invited in for a meal, much to his savior's displeasure and his old teacher's glee.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Grimm Castle**  
**Dawn**

Seventeen rooms into this god-forsaken castle and Zora was at his wit's end. Each room the magic was getting stronger and stronger. But also, the further they went into the castle, the nicer things became. There was definitely some ancient magic going on here.

Considering that the gate closed on them as soon as they entered, they were trapped until they found the person behind the chaos. "Have you noticed the changes?"

"We are going deeper and deeper into this trap," said Kirsch, looking a little pale, and breathing heavier than earlier.

"Oi, do you need to stop," asked Zora, trying not to let the concern seem too much into his tone.

Kirsch waved him off. "It'll pass. The mana here is very different than what I'm used to sensing."

Scowling, Zora let it go this time. But if Kirsch started being unable to breathe, they were stopping. They continued walking, as the halls became shinier and newer, like the castle hadn't been abandoned for hundreds of years. Kirsch grabbed Zora's arm, pointing to one of the rooms.

"I think I sense Sal," said Kirsch, "but it's probably a trap."

Zora narrowed his eyes and concentrated. He wasn't as good at sensing mana like Luck or Kirsch, but Sal had a very distinctive mana, as her affinity was storm, so the scent of incoming storm always permeated the air around her. Zora sensed a small trace. It was a good enough clue.

"Do we risk going in?"

"I don't think we have a choice," replied Kirsch. "We will just deal with the consequences later."

"Fair," said Zora. Together they opened the door where they sensed Sal.

The wind picked up and the force was so strong, it knocked both of the men into the room. Tripping over each other, they nearly landed on the floor. Zora steadied himself and Kirsch did the same.

"Shit, where'd the door go," Zora asked.

Kirsch replied, "We're stuck in a door-less, windowless room. Wonderful."

"Oh, great, my genius husband sent you _two_ to save me, huh," snarled a familiar voice.

Zora and Kirsch turned to find Sal Vermillion, very furious, bound in a large bird cage. She looked bad. She looked exhausted and her mana level was clearly very low. Her normal clothes were gone, in place of some sort of a puffed up dress that looked completely out of place on her.

"Sal!"

"Sal, what the hell's going on?"

Sal rolled her eyes, scoffing at them. "It's a long story, but we've got time. Sit down, it's a doozy."

_Ch. End_

* * *

As always let me know what you think.

(Also, for anyone waiting for the Magna/Klaus story I was promising, I'm putting that one on hold for a bit. I've way too many projects at the moment, so I had to cut a few things).


	3. Chapter 3

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Grimm Castle**

Zora went to check the lock on the bird cage, when Sal snapped, "No, stop. Don't touch anything yet."

"Why?"

"Everything is rigged," said Sal, adjusting the poofy dress as she paced in the bird cage perimeter. "Both of you just stay where you are and I'll explain everything that I know."

Zora nodded and looked over at Kirsch who stood perfectly still, yet eyeing the cage. It was good that both he and Kirsch were sent—between both of their magic, they'd be able to figure out a way to break any spells. "Okay, start talking."

Sal let out a huff. "As the Love Curse incident was dying down, I heard through the grapevine of my informants that some shady shit had ramped up in Grimmtowne. Since we're worried about devils at the moment, I thought I should investigate it. From the information I gathered, it definitely sound like people were being killed by whatever lived here in this castle."

"Yeah, I gathered that much from that old hag you spoke to," said Zora, nodding.

"This is not devil mana," said Kirsch, eyes narrowed. "This is witch's mana—like Vanessa and Captain Dorothy's."

"Afraid you're correct, Kirsch," said Sal, sighing. "I snuck into the castle after checking out how many people went missing over the years. I got trapped shortly after, forced magically into this dress, waiting for "my prince" to arrive and save me. The witch's magic is somehow tied to the Clover fairy tales."

Zora frowned. "That's why the front half of the castle still looks like shit, but as you go, it's transformed the place to look like back in its heyday. It has to be some sort of illusion magic."

Sal nodded. "The witch, whomever she is, is very powerful. Definitely on the scale of the witches we know, probably even more so. That is why it was utterly reckless of you both to come charging into here without a plan. You two are supposed to be smart and cunning!"

"We're sorry, Sal," said Kirsch, shooting Zora an "I-told-you-so" look. Zora rolled his eyes. "There was no time and I don't think there was any way to break the spell from the outside."

Sal scowled. "Yeah, well, too late now. But, together we can break the spells and fight the witch. By the way, how long have I been in here?"

"A month," replied Zora, as Sal cursed up a storm, not believing it. He looked at Kirsch. "You got an idea to bust her out of this cage?"

"Not yet. But I think I might know what kind of magic this is," mused Kirsch. "According to Captain Dorothy, the witches that live outside the Witches' Forest tend to be powerful in ways that the Witch Queen does not like. Captain Dorothy mentioned other than herself, Vanessa, and that Diamond wizard's wife, there were about a dozen or so other witches with the same level of abilities that don't live in the Witches' Forest. I remember one of the powers the Captain mentioned had been Storybook Illusion, but that Witch has to be old. Captain Dorothy said there were many witches that left many years before she was even born."

"That would make sense with what we know," replied Sal. "Man, I never catch Dotty when she's awake. I still got to get that list of witches from her!"

"So, if it's illusion magic, that's a subset of water and light magic," said Kirsch, deep in thought. "We might be able to overwhelm illusion with a combined spell of your Ash Magic and my Cherry Blossom Magic to get Sal and us out of this room."

"And then we have to find my grimoire," said Sal, crossing her arms annoyed.

Zora nodded in agreement with Kirsch's assessment (see, this was why he was okay with the two working together often, because may have a ridiculous personality but he was competent), taking his grimoire out of his holder. "Let's see what we can do, since our magics are basically opposites." Ash Magic was a subset of Fire Magic while Cherry Blossom magic was a subset of Flower Magic which itself was a subset of Earth Magic. Their magics would, in theory, cancel each other out.

Kirsch took out his own grimoire and they both sat on the floor to look through them.

**Clover Kingdom Fairy Tale**  
**The Prince and the Peasant**  
**Part 1**

The heroic Prince went back to traveling after the attempt on his life, but he made sure to visit his old mentor and the mentor's daughter regularly. The Prince, you see, was quite lonely on his adventures—especially since his brothers don't seem to care for him and his parents were dead. It was nice to have a place to go where someone actually cared for his well-being and not what he, the Prince, could do for someone or some town.

In fact, the Prince had been considering it was time to settle down, find a wife and have some children of his own. And he had one person in mind to become his wife, but she, the shadow wizard, was very stubborn and fierce. It kind of made him shy about asking to properly court her.

While thoughts of marriage and babies preoccupied the Prince, the Prince's brother the King was still on the throne and madder than ever that his pesky youngest brother was still alive and gaining even more and more popularity over him, the King. So, the King came up with a diabolical plan to get rid of his brother once and for all.

As the King plotted against his brother, the Prince returned to the little cottage in the woods where his mentor and the shadow wizard invited him in for dinner. That day he had been feeling rather bold and asked the shadow wizard to take a walk with him after they dined. With a sharp look from her father, the shadow wizard agreed.

When they went for the walk, the Prince intended to ask the shadow wizard for permission to court her.

But alas, the Prince should have been more concerned about his evil brother trying to murder him!

The pair were attacked by another coven of witches. This time there was a fatal consequences—the shadow wizard saved the Prince's life by intercepting the attacks, only to die of the wounds immediately as a result.

The Prince so distraught over her death went on a rampage. So much despair entered his heart that he went on a three-day massacre of everything in his path, only to be struck down by his old mentor. The Prince, in his dying breath, cursed the Kira Clover family with madness. And yet, when news reached the King of his brother's death, there was no dear only joy.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Grimm Castle**

Sal was laughing at them both, as the spell they came up with for a Union Magic was using one spell from both Zora and Kirsch, except the spells were basically baby spells. Kirsch and Zora had years of magic spells in their grimoires, but they were all too big, too powerful for such a delicate job. And there was also the fact that they didn't want to accidentally hurt Sal. Kirsch went straight to the front of his grimoire, which had the spells he learned back when he was fifteen and Zora had a bit more to look through than Kirsch since he was a bit older.

They practiced the spell on a nearby jewelry box, which unlocked it without damaging the box as a whole, but it was a spell that didn't fit either of their personalities.

"Sal, come off it. Don't you want to get out," Zora snapped, annoyed.

"Just don't tell anyone," said Kirsch.

"Of course," said Sal, still laughing, completely and utterly amused.

Kirsch and Zora traded looks, understanding that Sal was going to tease them about this until the end of time. They both sighed and activated their new Union Spell.

"**Union Magic: Cinder Petals."**

A small amount of cherry blossom petals appeared but immediately became ash, filling the lock on the bird cage and immediately making the lock fall apart.

"I'm free," Sal cheerfully said, stepping out of the cage and the dress turned back to her normal traveling clothes. "Geez that dress was so uncomfortable."

"You wore a dress for your wedding," pointed out Zora, putting away his grimoire.

"Yeah, a dress that was tailored to my specifications. That was a monstrosity," said Sal. She started stretching in earnest since she had been stuck in a cage for a month, while Kirsch put away his grimoire.

Kirsch was too busy trying to control his own emotions to listen Zora and Sal bicker over dresses. While it was embarrassing to use two weak spells at their level of wizardry, it was actually kind of fun. Kirsch didn't often get to use union or compound magic since most of the people he worked with had powerful magic that didn't need a bolster. It was nice to know that Kirsch's own magic would immediately made Zora's magic stronger, even if it destroyed Kirsch's beautiful smelling cherry blossoms.

Sal gave them a big grin. "Either of you got a healing spell."

"Ah, right, sorry, Sal," said Kirsch, quickly doing a healing spell to help restore her mana a bit.

Zora moved to inspect the rest of the room, but not touching anything after the warning, while Kirsch's **Cherry Blossom Healing Dance** encircled Sal. Once Kirsch did what he could, Sal said, softly, "You two made beautiful magic together."

Kirsch's felt warm as he hissed at his cousin-in-law, "Sal, no."

Sal rolled her eyes. "Alright, now, we're gonna need to find my grimoire, but first we need out of this room, so boys, work your magic again, just a bit bigger this time."

"Are we really gonna explode a hole in the wall," asked Kirsch.

"Kirsch, we're not exploding anything, just disintegrating a wall," said Zora, smirking.

"Same difference, Zora."

"Stop flirting, and get to it," said Sal.

"Shut up," chorused Zora and Kirsch.

Needless to say, the castle had one less wall and they were able to get back to the hallway. Sal was busy trying to sense where her grimoire was looking and Kirsch just wanted his face to stop feeling warm.

He hoped that Zora didn't notice that Kirsch was flustered. (Again).

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Somewhere in the Grimm Castle**

"Pity, pity, little Sal doesn't want to play anymore. She was no fun anyway. Ah, but an actual royal—Kirsch Vermillion. Hmm, should be interesting, let's see what's in his heart."

_Ch. End_


	4. Chapter 4

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Somewhere in the Grimm Castle**

"Are you sure we're going the right way, Sal," asked Zora, as he and Kirsch followed Sal, who was taking them on a trek through the mysterious Grimm Castle.

"Yes," replied Sal. Sal was on the hunt for her stolen grimoire. They needed her to have her grimoire before they took on the enemy that had been killing the townspeople and trapped them. Sal's storm magic was on a whole other level than Zora's ash magic and while Sal didn't have as much as mana as a royal like Kirsch, her experience far exceeded Kirsch's cherry blossom magic.

If Sal had her grimoire and with Zora and Kirsch's help, they'd make quick work of the enemy and it was best not to drag out the fight, as Sal had been captured for about a month. She probably needed a doctor more than she was letting on, despite Kirsch using his magic to give her a quick healing earlier.

"Stop making that face, we're going to be fine," said Kirsch, at Zora's side. When was it that the two always managed to walk side-by-side these days? Zora didn't know.

Zora continued to scowl. He knew that he had been hasty to get into the castle, his stupid Black Bull teammates were really rubbing off on him. "Yeah, yeah." Zora looked at pretty boy royal and noticed that he was tense. Kirsch's jaw was clenched and he kept wiping his hands on his robes.

It was mind-boggling to Zora that someone as confident and self-assured as Kirsch was nervous around Zora, though Sal's teasing didn't help. The teasing just made both him and Kirsch remember that awkward confession from months ago.

"Ah-ha, it's in here," said Sal, stopping at one of the doors. "You got my back, boys?"

"We're not much younger than you," said Kirsch, rolling his eyes. "And of course, we do."

Zora braced himself for an attack as Sal opened the door. Instead, Sal's grimoire flew at storm wizard and Sal caught it. A wizard or witch was unable to lose their grimoire, as it was magically bound to their owner until said owner's death. The only way to keep someone's grimoire from them was to barricade it behind very strong magic. Sal looked pleased to have her grimoire back.

"We're off to see the witch," said Sal, grinning. "Let's kick ass and get the hell out of here!"

Scoffing, Zora said, "Don't get ahead of ourselves. This place is still a maze."

"And we can't go knocking every wall down," interjected Kirsch.

Sal grinned wider. "Wow, you two are on the same wavelength sometimes, you know that?" Zora didn't dare look at Kirsch because he couldn't take seeing Kirsch's face red and cute anymore. It made Zora feel very guilty.

Sal, then, opened her grimoire. "**Storm Magic: Storm Chaser**." A giant weather vane appeared in front of them, spinning and spinning. "This will lead us straight to the witch!"

So, without a better plan, Zora and Kirsch followed Sal. The weather vane moved its directional every once in a while that only Sal was able to decipher. Zora thought things were going too smoothly as they continued down the unending hallways of Grimm Castle. The deeper they went the nicer the castle became and that bothered Zora.

"I think we need a plan," said Zora. But before Kirsch or Sal were able to respond, everything went pitch black. Zora felt his balance shift and he went to reach out for Kirsch who had been standing right next to him, but no one was there. "Shit, a trap."

Then, just as quick as things went dark and topsy-turvy, Zora was able to see again. He was in a different part of the castle. It was not as bright and cheery as the part he had been in earlier, almost as if the design of the castle changed. The style was dark and gothic. But more than that, he didn't see Sal or Kirsch. A pit of worry settled in Zora's stomach.

Grimacing and to no one in particular, "Well, I'm done with this bullshit." He opened his grimoire and used his trap spells to open a pathway for him to easily move around the castle. He was done being cautious in this hell of a maze castle. His companions could very well be in danger and Zora had no time to waste.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Somewhere in the Grimm Castle**

Kirsch sighed for the umpteenth time as he cleared another room. Once he had been split up from Zora and Sal, Kirsch needed to be at the ready for another attack or trap. Thankfully, he had been blessed with a large mana supply. It was just he was very worried about Sal and Zora, who were skilled wizards, but they both were from the Forsaken Realm and hadn't been blessed with great mana. They'd tire out quicker than Kirsch, so he needed to find them both before the witch struck again.

He knew Zora's mana signature quite well and not because he was in love with Zora, but because Kirsch worked with him enough to know how to sense Zora's mana. He knew Sal's mana too, because it had a distinct smell that came with it, which most mana didn't have—her magic smelled like a summer day before a lightning storm.

His grimoire was opened to one of his best spells as he entered the next room. And Kirsch was stunned at the sight of the large room he entered. He spotted a stand with a huge grimoire on it, which was glowing with the mana of the witch he had been sensing since he stepped into this god-forsaken castle. Kirsch slowly moved, eyes scanning the room for the sign of the witch, who was bound to be nearby.

It was the biggest grimoire he had ever seen (Lord Julius's did not count since it was the only one that Kirsch ever had seen without a cover)—it was at least seven normal size grimoires by seven normal size grimoires.

"Hi! I'm glad you found me, Prince Kirsch," said a voice. Flying from the ceiling was a woman, who looked about Mimosa's age. She had black hair and green eyes, wearing blue ballroom type dress that Kirsch seen had women wear parties at Clover Castle.

Kirsch stilled. "Do I know you?" He didn't like that this woman knew his name.

"You should! Dorothy told you about me," said the woman, smiling wildly. Kirsch definitely didn't like that she knew his Captain's name.

"Storybook Illusion Witch Tuccia, you don't look very old," said Kirsch, calmly as possible. Captain Dorothy made it clear to Kirsch to stay away from the witches she told him about, except of course, herself, Vanessa, and Dominante.

"Certain witches have a certain type of immortality and eternal youth," said Tuccia, nodding. "What a good little royal boy listening to his precious Captain."

Kirsch sensed that this woman was very dangerous and tried not to make any sudden movements. "How do you know my name?"

Tuccia came closer. At closer look, she was wearing makeup, her lips were very red. "I've been listening to you and the peasant boy since you came into the castle to rescue that bore Sal, a fake royal."

"Don't insult them," said Kirsch, steely.

"I never see the day that a royal would willing defend two peasants," laughed Tuccia. "It's so sad that you're in love with someone who doesn't love you back, Prince Kirsch."

"What does that have to do with anything," asked Kirsch. He might have to risk engaging her in battle without Zora and Sal's help, as she came closer. She was shorter than him.

"Love has to do with everything, my dear Prince," said Tuccia. "Do you know the story about the Prince and Peasant?"

Kirsch tensed. "Everyone knows that story."

"It's all a lie! Did you know that the Prince in the story actually became King Kira Clover X? The fairy tales written down by a woman in this village were all big fat lies by the way. But Kira Clover X was the worst, even worse than your Kira Clover XIII. He did everything in his power to make himself look good, even making up fictional stories about himself," said Tuccia, green eyes flashing dangerously as she spoke of the current Clover King's great-grandfather.

Coming to the realization from the different versions of the story in question, Kirsch said, "You were the peasant girl."

"Wow, pretty and smart, that Zora peasant boy really has no taste," said Tuccia. "He made me promises you know. He promised me the Kingdom, to rule as a Queen, not like I would have if I stayed with my horrible sister in the Witches' Forest. But he was a liar and his love was not true. He sent the 24th Wizard King to seal me away in this castle, that bitch was far stronger than I gave her credit for, pity she had to listen that fool. But I'm much stronger than I was then."

"What's your goal," asked Kirsch. "Did you capture and kill the people that entered the castle for a reason?"

"I want to see True Love actually happen in front of me! No one proved it to me! Sal's husband didn't even come to save her himself! He sent you two! How pathetic that he doesn't love her enough," Tuccia replied. "But you're interesting. You have a big heart, Prince Kirsch."

"Fuegoleon loves Sal more than you can ever fathom. I'm sorry that Kira Clover X did you wrong, but that's no reason to take it out on everyone else," said Kirsch, "but I need to stop you and protect the people of Grimmtowne."

But Kirsch never got a chance to do his attack spell, as Tuccia's grimoire flipped and Kirsch stopped in his tracks. His eyes shuttered shut, but he was still awake in a weird way, as he could hear and sense what was going on around him. He felt hands lay him down.

He heard Tuccia whisper, "A big honorable heart you have, Prince Kirsch, such a pity."

Kirsch had no choice but to wait for rescue.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Somewhere in the Grimm Castle**

As he stepped through his next magic escape route, Zora found Sal using her magic to destroy things rather furiously. Wincing, Zora waited until she was done with her rampage. He knew better than to interrupt someone when they were raging. "You done? We got to find Kirsch."

"Zora, good job finding me. Oh I see, you're going all out," said Sal, as Zora opened another magic seal to get to the next room. "Impatient to find Kirsch, huh? He can take care of himself. He is a Vice-Captain."

"Sal, please, stop teasing him," said Zora, glaring at her. "It's not funny when everyone does it. It's mean to him."

Sal said, apologetically, as she followed himself through the route he was making to find the witch, "You're right, I'm sorry, it's childish of me. But you really don't see it, do you?"

Zora rolled his eyes as he kept walking forward, trying to sense Kirsch's mana. "See what, Sal?"

"That you like him," said Sal, bluntly. "More than a friend, but you've been so messed up by the world that you don't recognize it."

Freezing, Zora whipped his head at her and snapped, "Don't you think I know my own goddamn feelings, Sal? Huh? I'm a god-damn grown-ass man. I don't hate Kirsch, he's my friend, but I don't like him as anything more than that or have the same feelings he has for me. I just wish everyone would stop bringing it up. It makes things harder to go back the way they were."

Sal shook her head and said, "It can't. Kirsch's in love with you and Vermillion don't forget love easily. There's always going to be that awkwardness, that awareness there that you both know how he feels."

"It won't matter in the end," snapped Zora. "He's getting married soon. Just drop it." Sal put her hands up and dropped the matter, though it looked like she had something else to say. Zora scowled, opening another pathway. They had to find Kirsch. What if he was hurt? Kirsch was still technically in recovery from the stupid Love Curse that he only suffered because the poor idiot had to go and fall in love with Zora.

It took another twenty minutes when they finally found something, or the witch just decided to stop playing around with them. Zora and Sal stepped into a large room, clearly the witch's room as evident from the massive grimoire.

Zora spotted Kirsch on the ground before anything else. "Kirsch!" He, followed by Sal, rushed to the unconscious body of Kirsch. Zora checked Kirsch's pulse and breathing and found that the royal was still alive. Zora looked at the witch, who was in her chair watching. "What did you do to him?" Zora felt the anger rise in him and he wanted to tear something apart.

"Calm down," hissed Sal. "Try to break him out of the spell, I'll take her."

"Oh, you'll take me, Sal Vermillion," asked the witch, tilting her head, as if she was cute and not a dangerous enemy. "I am Tuccia, the Storybook Illusion Witch, and you won't be able to beat me."

Sal patted Zora on the head. "Wake him up, Zora, I'll hold her off in the meantime." Sal wasted no time using her storm magic to fly herself at the witch, who was taken off guard by such a brazen attack.

He knew that Sal was no slouch, but while she'd be able to hold her off, but it would take the brains and the magic of all three of them to take her down officially. Zora knelt at Kirsch's side, as his grimoire flipped to a spell-breaking page. But of course, it didn't work. Zora kept trying as he heard the sound of Sal fighting the witch.

"Wow, Sal, that boy is a dum-dum," said Tuccia, mockingly. "Had he never heard of fairy tale before?"

"Shut up! Zora, you idiot! It's a True Love's Kiss breaks the spell deal," shouted Sal. "Come on you witch, come at me!" Zora glanced at the fight, as Sal threw lightning at the witch, who easily dodged it.

His ire grew. "I can't kiss him! That's ain't fucking fair to him, ain't it?"

"Zora, not the time," Sal screamed as Tuccia summoned three monstrous boars. "Just kiss him!"

Zora grimaced as he looked at the pale, sleeping face of Kirsch. He didn't want to do this to Kirsch, it wasn't fair. Zora knew Kirsch was a romantic at heart, because of course, Kirsch Vermillion was a romantic at heart. A kiss might not matter to Zora, but it'd matter to Kirsch.

It just there was no time to waste, so Zora pulled down his face mask, and leaned over Kirsch's face. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

And Zora kissed Kirsch as gently as possible, hoping that it'd work and Kirsch would wake up.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Somewhere in the Grimm Castle**

The kiss was his end.

He heard everything in his weird state of being and Kirsch didn't think that Zora would do it. But then, Kirsch felt one of Zora's warm, calloused hands cup Kirsch's cheek, and the warm of Zora's breath on his face. Kirsch felt the press of the rough, chapped lips gently, yet awkwardly press again his. (Of course, Zora had chapped lips, just like Kirsch imagined, because Zora knew nothing of skin care or lip care and it was more endearing than Kirsch wanted to admit).

Kirsch wanted so much for the kiss to never end, but also for the ground to swallow him into the bowels of earth.

Kirsch was never going to be able to look Zora in the eyes ever again.

His eyes opened to see Zora's blue eyes staring intently into Kirsch's own golden eyes. Zora's mouth quirked into a small, yet awkward smile. "Hey, you're back."

Too quickly, Zora moved his face away from Kirsch, who mourned the closeness of the man he loved, but Zora helped Kirsch sit up. "Thank you," said Kirsch, earnestly.

Zora pulled up his face mask and uttered, "Yeah."

Neither looked at the other.

"Hey guys! A little help!"

Kirsch stood up, a bit woozy from the spell, which Zora caught him and propped Kirsch up. "Let's defeat this witch with a kickass combo spell and go home."

"Best idea all day," replied Zora.

_Ch. End_

* * *

Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Somewhere in the Grimm Castle**

"**Combination Magic: Dance of a Billion Cuts,"** said Zora and Kirsch together as they used Zora's "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust" spell and Kirsch's "Dance of 100 Million Cherry Blossoms" to get sharp deadly particles of the cherry blossoms turned to ash, swirling about the large room. Sal used a lightning shield to surround herself, as the little ash needles went straight for the witch Tuccia.

Kirsch was glad that there was no time to dwell on what just happened. The witch was unprepared for the power of two strong spells from Kirsch and Zora.

Tuccia panicked one she began getting tiny cut after tiny cut from the spell. The sheer amount cause the illusion on the castle to fall and soon they were standing in nothing but a dilapidated castle. The room that had been her room for the grimoire had no roof and thankfully it was sunny and not raining, as that would have ruined the power of their spell. Blood dripped down Tuccia's pale skin as she struggled to combat it.

Kirsch almost felt bad for her, if not for the fact that Tuccia was responsible for many deaths of the people in Grimmtowne. As a Magic Knight, he had a duty to protect the citizens of the Clover Kingdom. Thankfully, she passed out, falling to the ground with a heavy thump. Sal flew down and checked her. Zora took out some rope and went over as Sal took off any weapons.

Since they had Tuccia, Kirsch had to contain the witch's grimoire. As Vice-Captain, he had a magic item to lock enemies' grimoires from use. It was especially handy in moments like these when the enemy could became dangerous again at any minute. Once the grimoire was secured, Kirsch took out of his communication magical device. Now that the Tuccia's magic was down, he'd be able to get back up in no time. "Lord Marx, this is Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion speaking! Zora and I need enemy retrieval, we have a witch that needs bringing in for crimes against Grimmtowne."

It took a few moments but he got a response, _"Understood Vice-Captain! Is Lady Sal unharmed?"_

Kirsch looked over to Sal, who was in the middle of bickering with Zora about tying knots. Ginning, he said, "Yeah, she's fine."

With those two duties out of the way, Kirsch sat down. He needed a minute to rest. Honestly, he couldn't bring himself to go over to Sal and Zora because there was no way that he was ever going to be able to look Zora in the eyes again. And there was no way that he wanted to talk to Sal, who probably knew everything about the awkwardness between Zora and Kirsch.

The fact remained was that Zora kissed Kirsch to wake him up from some fairy tale spell and Kirsch's heart took another beating. After having to confess his feelings for Zora or face imminent death, he had tried to deal with the changing relationship he had with Zora as friends, because even if it was awkward, Kirsch didn't want to lose Zora's hard-earned friendship. But now, Kirsch had no idea how he was going to recover from this incident. It was like the universe was against him being happy.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Grimmtowne**  
**Downtown**

Zora had to meet Sal, Kirsch and Finral (who had been on the backup team) in about fifteen minutes so that they can get to the Capital to report in and then go home. Having Finral there made the trip infinitely quicker. However, there was something that had been bothering him throughout this whole mess. The witch Tuccia had mentioned that someone did write the fairy tales that the lite boys and girls of the Kingdom were read, even if there was only kernels of truth in those tales.

It was why he found himself on the streets of Grimmtowne for a few answers, despite needing to go home.

"Oh, back are we, young man," asked Old Baba, who was sitting in the same place she had been two days ago when he first encountered her. "Want to buy my medicine?"

"No," said Zora, hands in his pocket. "Did you know who was in that castle?"

Old Baba smiled, making her seem more lucid and younger, "Mayhap, young man."

"For the writer of the most famous fairy tales in Clover, you sure suck at telling proper stories," said Zora, hoping that the woman would take the bait. He had his suspicions about how and why Tuccia's "Prince" got the tales written. "Like a witch hiding in a castle should have been the first thing you told my friend."

"The world isn't that simple," said Old Baba, sticking her tongue out at him. "Stories aren't that simple."

He spotted the curse mark on her tongue. "Makes sense. The past King got you to tell the tales he wanted and then he put a silence curse on you, meaning that you'd never were able to tell what really happened. The witch Tuccia took advantage of that fact and bided her time." Tuccia had to have been aware of Old Baba's curse.

"Mayhap, mayhap," said Old Baba. "Now, don't be hangin' 'round here. You got people waitin', I'm sure."

Zora sighed and took out some money. He handed it to her. "Take care of yourself, Baba."

He walked away from her and headed toward the front gate of the town. There, Sal was waiting impatiently tapping her foot. Kirsch and Finral were in the middle of a conversation, which trailed off when Zora approached them. It hurt that Kirsch hadn't looked at him or spoken to him since the battle.

Emotions sucked. He was going to have to talk to Kirsch in private at some point soon. "We ready to go?"

"Yes," said Sal, "Man, I'm ready for a good rest."

"Great," said Finral, opening a portal. Sal wasted no time and rushed through it. "Come on you two, don't take your sweet time."

Kirsch rolled his eyes and walked through the portal. Zora stepped in after him. He landed in the courtyard of the Magic Knight Headquarters where the Wizard King Fuegoleon Vermillion waited.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Courtyard**

Kirsch smiled as Sal bounded up to Fuegoleon, with no regard to propriety, and hugged her husband. Fuegoleon looked relieved and even broke his own rule to hug her back. It warmed Kirsch's heart to know that they loved each other so much. "You want our verbal report now and written report sent in later?"

Fuegoleon, smiling, stood up straight, though Sal made no move to leave her husband's side. "Yes, thank you so much, Zora, Kirsch. I knew I could count on you. Tell me the summary of what happened. I'm sure that Sal will fill me on the rest."

"You're the Vice-Captain, you do the summarizing," said Zora, arms crossed, but not looking at Kirsch.

Feeing bad that Zora was feeling bad about what happened, Kirsch powered through his second heartbreak by the same man and reported to the Wizard King on their mission. He told him about the reports of missing people, Old Baba, the traps, and the witch Tuccia, who was being sent to the Clover Kingdom's brand new prison in the Forsaken Realm. The prison was being used for housing dangerous enemies, instead of the dungeons in Magic Knight Headquarters.

Nodding, Fuegoleon said, "Excellent news. I'll have to send a team of Magic Knights to help Grimmtowne with any rebuilding and send a report to the King. Great work. All of you. Kirsch, Zora, Finral, you are dismissed. Thanks again for everything."

Kirsch, Zora and Finral saluted Fuegoleon, as he and Sal headed into the Magic Knight headquarters. Before anymore awkwardness could surface, Kirsch said, looking at Finral and not Zora, "Well, I'm headed out. Be careful, you two."

"Let me open a portal for you to the town closest to your headquarters," said Finral.

Kirsch shook his head, "Don't worry. I need a flight before going back to that mad house I call home." He summoned his broom from his grimoire and flew off towards home.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**

Kirsch had a nice flight to think about nothing as he kept his mind blank and focused on flying home. However, as soon as he entered the Coral Peacocks Headquarters, he hunted down Levi in the kitchen. With much protest from the third-in-command of the Coral Peacocks, Kirsch paid no mind to Levi and dragged him off to Kirsch's own Vice-Captain's office.

"What the heck, Kirsch," demanded Levi, once Kirsch let the other man's arm go.

Kirsch looked at the friendly face of Levi (though he was glaring at Kirsch at the moment for interrupting a meal) and said, "Zora kissed me."

Levi stilled and said, "What the fuck happened on that mission? You were only gone for two days!"

"There was a witch and she put me under a sleeping curse that only would be broken by my true love kissing me," blurted out Kirsch. He sat on the couch he had his office and gripped his beautiful hair in frustration. "Zora had no choice. Sal was fighting the witch. We needed to defeat her together in order to win. But he kissed me. It was amazing, by the way. But now, I can't look at him. And he can't look at me. I wanna curl in a ball and never leave my room again!"

Levi grimaced. "How do you even get yourself in this situations, Vice-Captain, geez? You already got rejected from Zora once. You know it didn't mean anything."

Kirsch leaned back on the couch and grumbled, "I have a fragile heart, Levi. I _want_ it to mean something." He sighed. Kirsch felt like crying in the safety of his own office in his home.

"Talk to him, don't let this drag out," said Levi, sitting next to Kirsch on the couch. Levi sighed. "I know this is hard for you. I'm sorry I can't help more."

Eyes tearing up, Kirsch said, "You listen to me, so that's more than enough."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Headquarters**

Zora stepped onto the familiar turf outside of the Black Bulls Headquarters, as Finral came through the portal and shut it. Kirsch had left abruptly, even declining a portal home, so Zora didn't get a chance to talk to him or apologize again. Zora didn't know when he was going to be able to see Kirsch again, since normally they were busy on their missions, but Zora knew that he had to talk to Kirsch before Zora hurt Kirsch's feelings even more.

"Okay, what's up with you," asked Finral, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothin'," replied Zora, as he tried to go into the Black Bulls house and get some food before he took a bath and went to sleep.

"Nice try, but you hadn't said anything snarky since I got to Grimmtowne," said Finral, crossing his arms. "Either you talk to me now or face Vanessa's questions. Because I can tell something is off."

Zora sighed, "It's complicated."

"Complicated like how I was in love with my brother's betrothed for years and didn't expect anything to come out of it? Or complicated like Asta being so in love with Yuno that it took imminent death for him to realize it," asked Finral.

Snorting, Zora replied, "Okay fair point, but you can't tell Vanessa or Charmy because then everyone and their mother will know by tomorrow." Finral didn't say a word and let Zora know that he wanted to know. "Kirsch got put under a True Love's Kiss spell by the witch Tuccia and I had to kiss him to wake him up so we could defeat her."

"Oooh, boy," said Finral, whistling. "That's complicated. And it's got you bothered because you don't want to hurt him unnecessarily because you can't return his feelings. Or maybe, you're more bothered because you liked it and you want to do it again."

Zora glared. "It's not like that, shut up. And he clearly doesn't want to talk to me."

"Give him some time to process and then talk to him," said Finral. "Trust me, communication is key in any relationship. Don't let misunderstandings pile up. It'll just hurt more in the end."

"Thanks, I guess." Finral was right. Zora needed to give Kirsch some space and Kirsch would come to Zora when he was ready. But they were eventually going to have to talk.

"What are friends for?"

"To annoy the hell out of me, but I guess sometimes, you're useful."

"Gee, thanks, Zora," replied Finral, sarcastically.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Vice-Captain's Office**

_Dear Kirsch,_

_I visited with Lady Esmond as you asked me. You, myself, Mimosa and Papa are going to have a formal dinner with the Esmond Family so you can meet your future wife on XX/XX._

_Now with that out of the way, can I just tell you that I don't think this is a good idea? Papa and I just want you to be happy. The Esmond family gives me the hives, except poor Clarity (thank goodness that Azure Deer treats that girl right). I haven't met the Lady Esmond you're going to marry, but I don't like the things I hear, Kirsch._

_If you change your mind, not matter if it's after meeting her or the day of the wedding, I can and will get you out of this, but it has to be up to you. I can only tell you what I think._

_Love from,_  
_Mom_

Kirsch sighed and put the letter from his mother down. He resigned himself to the fact that his mother was going to disapprove of him marrying someone that he didn't love. Kirsch didn't want to falter, as this marriage would be a good thing for his family and it could very well take his mind off of Zora. (Even if, Kirsch's heart never moved on from Zora, Kirsch would have kids with his future wife and that'd be good). He took a breath moment, at his desk, and held his head in his hands and let out one huge sigh.

He got up from his desk. There was a dinner outfit to be put together and plans to be made concerning his squad. Kirsch had no time to dally.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Headquarters**  
**Outside**

It was too loud at the house, so Zora was trying to take a nap in one of the trees on the outskirts of base. Zora hadn't slept well last night, despite being fed by Charmy and he even took a bath before bed. His thoughts and dreams were plagued by a certain pretty-boy Vice-Captain and Zora hated himself for overthinking things. Trying to nap, Zora felt someone's mana and that someone was not a Black Bull.

"Who's there," drawled Zora, ready for a fight.

"Mr. Zora! It's me, Clarity," said the girl, standing at the base of the tree where Zora had been lounging. "I need to speak with you."

"Oh?"

"When you came to ask about my sister, it got me thinking," said Clarity.

Zora tried not to be interested, but got down from the tree. He stood in front of the short artist from the Azure Deer and crossed his arms. "About what?"

"I didn't tell you everything about my sister. And I think I should," said Clarity, softly. "Vice-Captain Kirsch and his family are having dinner with my family in a week. It's not too late, Mr. Zora, to stop Vice-Captain Kirsch from making a mistake."

Zora stared at her. Reasonably, he ought to turn her away as it wasn't his business what Kirsch did with his life. It would be better for both Kirsch and himself if Zora didn't meddle. Clarity's solemn demeanor and the fact that she came to Zora, however, set off red flags in Zora's brain. His protectiveness of his friends was winning this internal debate, as Zora said, "Okay, I'm listening."

_~to be continued_

* * *

Notes:

Next month you're getting THREE CHAPTERS!


	6. Chapter 6

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch Vermillion's Bedroom**

Kirsch stared at himself in the mirror in his bathroom. Today was the day of the Esmond Dinner. Today was the day that he was going to meet his future wife. He normally had nerves of steel (except when it came to Zora), but this event was going to be his future wife's first impression of him. If he messed up, it could set the tone for their relationship and make things difficult for the Vermillion Family, if the Esmond Family got insulted.

"Kirsch, you're stalling, come on," complained Mimosa, who stood at the door of the bathroom. She was dressed in a fancy off-purple floral gown since it was a formal dinner. She looked beautiful and it was a pity that her boyfriend Langris didn't get to see her in this dress. "Mother and Father are waiting!"

"Does this suit me," asked Kirsch of his own outfit. His style was normally much more colorful and exciting. But he toned it down a ton, going with a much more conservative burgundy and black combination. It was also a lot less flowing.

Mimosa gave him a pinched look. "You look like a proper gentleman. I didn't know you owned clothes that dark."

"Oh, God, I look weird. I'm changing," said Kirsch. He rushed past Mimosa out of the bathroom to his room's closet. Mimosa, however, wasn't having it. She grabbed him before he started rummaging through his closet.

"Kirsch, you're fine. We need to go or we're gonna be late," said Mimosa. She gave him a bright, earnest look. Even though it wasn't even lunchtime, formal dinners like these were a whole affair for like six or seven hours. It was why Kirsch had to clear his entire Sunday just for this dinner. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

Kirsch pouted, half-joking but also not joking. "I'm beautiful, right?"

"I'm gonna punch you, don't tempt me," said Mimosa. Becoming the Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn gave Mimosa a confidence boost and made her no-nonsense side come out more, something that she and Kirsch both inherited from their mother.

Kirsch smiled at his little sister. "Okay, okay, no need to get violent. Let's get Mother and Father."

Mimosa and Kirsch headed out of his room. Since the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters was maze-like in its construction, Kirsch led the way. Guests were always put in the tea room, so it was where they found their Mother, Lady 1st Class Senior Magic Knight of the Blue Rose squad, Nickole Vermillion, and their Kingdom-wide famous poet of a father, Lord Sazerac Vermillion. Several of Kirsch's juniors had provided tea and biscuits for his parents, just as it should be.

"Looking sharp, son," said Sazerac, their father. His vermillion hair was long and straight, the color identical to both Kirsch and Mimosa's. Their father was clean-shaven and dressed in a classy bespoke white suit and a top hat. Clearly, their father didn't get the memo to tone it down a bit.

"Thanks," said Kirsch, pleased.

"Changed your mind yet," asked Nickole, their mother. To his surprise, their mother put some effort in her appearance—making her normally straight hair to wavy curls, and wearing a little make-up. Her dress was an amazing silver dress that was made with ease of movements in mind, just in case of an emergency.

"Mother, Father, Mimosa," said Kirsch, sternly. "Best behavior tonight, okay?"

"Fine," chorused his parents and sister.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate**  
**Poppy Castle**

"You owe me," said Finral.

"And I promise to pay you back by funding three dates with Finesse," said Zora, as they arrived via one of Finral's portals near the Poppy Estate.

"You'd better!"

The Poppy Estate, ran by the Prospekt Family, was a place for travelers and lost souls. Just recently, it was the site of the Summit of the Great Four Monarchs (Spade, Diamond, Clover, and Heart). A place of neutrality, any battles were prohibited on the estate grounds, Zora had stumbled upon the Poppy Estate as a boy who lost his father, trying to find a way to get stronger.

Lady Prospekt, back when Zora knew her, had been a woman in her twenties, unmarried and had no children. She had given him guidance when he had none. She was the closest to a mother figure, he supposed, which was why he bugged Finral to take him out here. Zora needed advice and he knew that Lady Prospekt wouldn't tease or mock and take it seriously.

He and Finral entered the grounds and headed to the Castle where Zora had spent a couples of years after his father was murdered. They reached the big door and didn't even have to knock as it opened immediately to reveal the beautiful and ethereal Lady Prospekt.

"Zora Ideale, Finral Roulacase, welcome, would you like to stay for lunch," she asked, without even asking why they were there in the first place.

"Yes, thank you," said Finral, brightly.

Zora and Finral entered the Poppy Castle, following Lady Prospekt through the halls that ached with old magic. Zora knew that she and her family ate lunch in the sun-room. So it was no surprise to enter the sun-room to find her husband and two children already in the room.

"Ah, we have guests," said Lord Prospekt. "Welcome, Magic Knights of Clover."

"Thanks for having us," said Finral. "It's pleasure to be back here without all the danger."

"Isn't that the truth," laughed Lord Prospekt. "Come and sit, boys." Zora and Finral took seats at the table.

Zora knew that every table in the house always had room for other people. The lunch spread was delicious looking. The best thing about this place was that there were no servants and despite its outward appearance, everyone was equal within the walls. The Prospekt family came off as mysterious but they were really just wizards who had a legacy to uphold—to be a place for lost souls.

"Zora used to be a guest here before I got married to you, dear," said Lady Prospekt, sitting down at the head of the table. She nodded at her children and the kids started serving themselves food.

"Is that so? Then, welcome back," said Lord Prospekt. "Please enjoy the berry tarts, our little miss over here is getting much better at baking."

Lunch was a quiet yet relaxing affair, giving Zora time to think about what he wanted to ask Lady Prospekt. It was a stark contrast to meals at the Black Bulls place, which was always chaotic and exciting. Zora liked both types for different reasons. Finral chatted amiably with Lord Prospekt, who was curious about affairs in the Clover Kingdom since the incident from months ago. The Young Lord and Lady questioned their mother about the weird man Zora.

Once lunch was finished, Lord Prospekt and the two kids took Finral off on a tour of the castle, leaving Zora to speak with Lady Prospekt alone.

"So, are you lost again, Zora Ideale?"

"A bit."

"I'll lend you an ear, and some advice, then."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Esmond Estate**

"Welcome, Lords and Ladies Vermillion," said the butler of the Esmond Family Estate, bowing as he gestured for them to enter the castle. There were four maids standing before them. "Please follow them to the sitting room. Please enjoy your stay."

Kirsch grabbed his mother's hand in warning before she made a comment, as they followed the maids to the sitting room. The Esmond home was surprisingly austere inside. The grounds surrounding the castle were filled with gardens of various flowers from all over the kingdom, it was a truly impressive sight. Inside was a letdown in comparison.

The sitting room was very comfortable-looking in the very fake way. There were some books on shelves and a built-in bar. There were leather sitting chairs and couches. The presumed Lord Cornelius and Lady Priscilla Esmond sat together on the couch while a younger gentleman lounged in another chair with a bored look on his face.

"Lord Sazerac Vermillion, Lady Nickole Vermillion, Lord Kirsch Vermillion and Lady Mimosa Vermillion have arrived," announced one of the maids. The maids quickly scurried away.

"My Lords and Ladies, please take seats, we are waiting for both our daughters," said Lady Esmond, not even getting out of her seat to great her guests properly. "It's quite usual for our Clarity to be late, but Prudence is never late, so she must have gotten caught up at work."

Kirsch immediately pinpointed the easy dismissal of Clarity, but excusing Prudence. This was going to be a tiring dinner. Thankfully, his father, Sazerac, was the most personable person of the family. His father said, cheerfully, "Not a worry, young lady. Tell us is this your son, Lord Aaron, he's grown so much!"

Lady Priscilla giggled, "Yes, Aaron, do introduce yourself properly to your sister's betrothed and his family."

Lord Aaron Esmond stood up and bowed. "Please to meet you, Lord Kirsch, Lady Mimosa and Lady Vermillion, Lord Vermillion." He sat back down and shut up.

He seemed…dull in Kirsch's opinion. Mimosa and his mother took their seats. Mimosa looked nervous and their mother Nickole had a steely look on her face, stoic as ever in front of people she didn't know. Kirsch prayed to God that his father would be able to hold the conversations, so his mother didn't get irritated and do something impulsive and reckless.

Kirsch went over and shook Lord Cornelius' hand and then went over to Aaron to do the same. He also took Lady Priscilla's hand and kissed it like a gentleman.

"Thank you for having over your lovely home," said Kirsch to the Lady of the House, who usually ran things in noble and royal houses.

"You're just like your father, aren't you," cooed Lady Priscilla. "Lord Sazerac raised such a wonderful gentleman son."

Trying not to grimace at the shot at his mother's reputation for being a troublemaker, Kirsch smiled thinly. "Father, why don't you tell them about the time you visited the Heart Kingdom?" Changing the subject was the best idea, before his mother started to get mad.

Thankfully, his father launched into his story about his jaunt into the Heart Kingdom for some literary event there. Unfortunately, it left Kirsch sitting next to Aaron. Kirsch was really trying his best not to call this whole thing off and run away. He would much rather be spending time with his juniors at the Coral Peacocks or visiting Zora.

Aaron began speaking about something but Kirsch wasn't listening, just nodding here and there to feign interest. He wondered what Zora was doing. Since they returned from Grimmtowne, Kirsch hadn't picked up enough courage to visit and have a proper talk with Zora. Zora didn't dare set foot in the Coral Peacock headquarters, only because it's too bright, so he claimed. And knowing Zora, he probably disappeared to go and do something or another without telling anyone again.

"I am sorry I'm late," said Clarity Esmond, entering the sitting room. She was dressed in a bright sundress and her hair was up in a fancy bun. She bowed politely at everyone. Kirsch spotted that her hands had ink smudges on them, so he guessed that she got caught up doing her art. It was very much like Clarity.

"It's no worry, dear," said his father, going over and leading Clarity to a seat, though it looked like her parents were going to say something.

Kirsch traded looks with Mimosa. Both he and Mimosa had worked with Clarity before and she was a nice, artistic young woman, one of the few people that could keep up with Rill's insanity for art. Kirsch didn't want her to get in trouble with her family.

"Supper will be soon. Hopefully Prudence will arrive by then," said Lord Cornelius. "She's very busy preparing for the new semester at the University. She's very intelligent and gifted, so that she's reliable to the senior Professors."

Kirsch wanted to go home and bang his head on the table because it was now time for the Esmond couple to brag about their daughter. Kirsch's hand in marriage was valuable to nobles, as he was a Vermillion and a decorated and accomplished Magic Knight. He wondered if Fuegoleon had to suffer things like this, as the Esmond parents spoke of all of their daughter Prudence's accomplishments.

He tuned them out, when thankfully, a maid showed up, "Supper will be served in five minutes. Lady Prudence also messaged that she will be here shortly."

With that conversation ceased so that Kirsch and his family were led the dining room. The food was sitting on the tabletop. Everyone seated, when a maid announced that "Lady Prudence had arrived."

Kirsch's stomach went to knots immediately as this was the first time he would be seeing his future wife. Mimosa, thankfully he was seated between his sister and mother, took his hand in hers for support.

"Terribly sorry I am late, there was a major dispute over class schedules," said Lady Professor Prudence Esmond. She had long flowing black hair and blue eyes. She was only a year older than Kirsch but she looked rather severe, as if she never laughed. "Lords and Ladies Vermillion, it's an honor to finally meet you."

Putting a charming smile on his face, Kirsch stood up and shook hands with his future wife. "Hello, it's an honor to meet you, Professor Esmond." Since she and her family were proud of her academic status, Kirsch went with her Professor title instead of her Lady title.

The slight narrowing of her eyes, as they shook hands, told Kirsch that she was appraising him too. "Vice-Captain Vermillion, your reputation proceeds you. The honor is mine."

Kirsch knew this was going to be one tense evening.

_~to be continued_


	7. Chapter 7

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate**  
**Poppy Castle**

Zora didn't know where to start. Lady Prospekt waited and didn't force to him to speak. Sighing, Zora said, "There's someone who confessed their love for me. He's my friend and colleague. We didn't start out with the best first impressions, but we've come to respect each other over the years. And when he told me, he was suffering from the Unrequited Love Flower Curse, and there was no way that I had the same feelings, so I rejected him."

"Mmhm," hummed Lady Prospekt. "And yet, you two remained friends, though it was awkward?"

"Yeah," said Zora, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "But then something happened on our last mission together that's got me up in knots."

Lady Prospekt said, "Which is?"

"Have you heard about the Clover Fairy Tales," asked Zora. He didn't even pause because he knew she knew. "Well, we ran into this witch, Tuccia, who put Kirsch under a curse, where he was in some sort of sleep."

"Ah, yes, the True Love's Kiss, I'm aware of it," said Lady Prospekt, nodding knowingly. "I never taught you those stories, did I?"

"Back then, I wouldn't have listened to such stories," said Zora, waving her concern off. "So, you can infer what happened next and now, I feel extremely guilty for doing it. It wasn't fair to him, especially how I know he's a romantic at heart and takes things like that seriously. I don't want to hurt him."

Lady Prospekt smiled, gently and said, "Zora, sweetie, I think you're misunderstanding."

Zora stilled because she hadn't called him so affectionately in a long time. "What?"

"Such a thing as True Love's Kiss only works if the feelings are mutual," she stated. "Though, it's a bit of a misnomer to be called it, I would say that it should be Mutual Love's Kiss and not True Love."

"I'm sorry, what?" Zora felt his face getting warm. What did she mean that the only reason that the kiss worked was because Zora felt the same way? He wasn't in love with Kirsch. He couldn't be! Zora never had romantic feelings for another person. Romantic love and such relationships were beyond Zora's emotional capabilities. He barely handled having friends and a found family. This was making him nervous and uncomfortable. It didn't helped that Sal had essentially said the same thing to him in Grimmtowne. "I'm not…?" He fell silent, because maybe he didn't understand his own feelings for Kirsch?

"Zora, it's okay," she said. "Let's talk this out, and we'll work it out together."

"How did you know you were in love with your husband," asked Zora.

Lady Prospekt let out a brief laugh. "It's different for everyone, but I shall tell you. After you had left my father and my care, I went on a journey as all members of my family do at a certain age. Growing up here, I am a bit strange to others."

"Meaning you're a diplomat in nature and diffuse every situation easily," said Zora.

"Hmm, yes, I suppose," she replied, "Anyway, some months into my journey, I was in the Diamond Kingdom and I had stopped at a tavern there. Fights among drunkards happen and I had gotten in the middle when the local constable showed up and put everyone in their place. I got scolded for putting myself in danger. This was the first time I met my future husband. I kept going back to that town time and time again, and each time ran into him. Before I knew it, I was staying weeks in that town just to see him and then I knew I loved him."

"You just knew? Is it that way for some people?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "And for others, it's harder to come to terms. I have only one question for you, is he just your friend or is your relationship with him special in comparison to your other friends?"

Zora frowned. He thought about it. His friendship with the members of the Black Bulls were familial in nature. He had good friendships with Sal, Mimosa, and maybe Mereoleona. His colleagues in the Magic Knights were treated with disdain because Zora had high expectations. Then, there was Kirsch and it was different, wasn't it? Kirsch was his equal, a person that can be considered a partner. And Zora worried after Kirsch way more than everyone else, especially when Kirsch was hurt or injured or too optimistic for his own good. Kirsch was bright and beautiful and Zora was proud of him for changing for the better. And Zora didn't want Kirsch to marry someone who didn't love him for who he was as a person.

"Oh." Zora put his hands on his face and groaned. "I'm an idiot."

"You hadn't been equipped to handle such feelings," Lady Prospekt said. "Say it out loud, it'll make it more real and I don't think this something you can run from, Zora."

"This is terrible," said Zora. He sighed, as Lady Prospekt stared at him expectantly. "I think I'm in love with Kirsch." Zora was never going to live this down once Sal and Vanessa found out.

"Good for you," she said. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"He's getting married," said Zora, blankly. "He's a royal, you know, a Vermillion. And I already rejected him. And what if I tell him how I feel and we get together and it's not a love meant to last? He'd ruin his life for me and I can't have him to do that."

She hummed. "Alright, forget about that now. Do you think that you could feel this way about another person, though it a bit different of ways?"

"I don't know." Zora never dated or responded to flirting from anyone, so he didn't know. Wow, he was really under-prepared for things like this. He really was a bit of dumbass. Yes, Kirsch loved him now, and told Zora that his feelings were not going away, but what about Zora? Was he just responding to that love given? "You made this worse."

"The greatest love stories are the ones that you don't ever hear about," said Lady Prospekt, smiling. "Love isn't easy, it takes work from all involved. I'm afraid that the rest is up to you, Zora, sweetie."

Knowing that Kirsch was meeting his betrothed for the first time probably at this very moment, Zora knew that he just didn't want to confess to save Kirsch from that horrid woman. Clarity's stories made Zora very worried. Zora knew full well that if he said to Kirsch "don't get married," Kirsch would take it to heart. But wasn't that cruel? Kirsch was grown. Zora had no right to interfere in the other man's decisions.

He needed to figure his own feelings out before talking to Kirsch, lest this hurt them both.

Because when he confessed, Zora wanted to do it in a way so that Kirsch knew how much he was loved.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Esmond Estate**

After supper, Kirsch and Lady Prudence were all but shoved out the door to walk around the Esmond Estate gardens. At least, the gardens were pretty and Kirsch enjoyed such things. Lady Prudence was close to him in height, though she was trying to make herself seem smaller as she held on to his arm. Thankfully, she wasn't clinging too much.

The gardens were very beautiful under the sunset glow. Lady Prudence knew the grounds well so she led them to an area that had a large fountain with a statue of the Wizard King some benches surrounding it. They didn't sit though, as the fountain came to life as a waterfall.

He understood why he'd be chosen for her match as they made a striking couple in the same way his parents were when they put effort into remembering that they were married. Lady Prudence was a stoic woman, though she had no underlying warmness that Kirsch could see when he looked into her eyes or how she acted. Supper was interesting as she controlled the conversation with her parents and siblings (though she completely ignored Clarity).

As Kirsch was never one for the lack of words, except when it came to Zora and Mimosa for very different reasons, he knew that he had to be polite and gentlemanly. "So, Professor Esmond, you are a professor of philosophy, what drew you to a career in academia?" It was best to ask about another's career or interests and not focus on oneself.

Lady Prudence released his arm and moved to stand face-to-face to him. She was unimpressed and straight-faced, as she said, coldly, "Let's not do this, Lord Kirsch."

"Do what," Kirsch asked, wondering what she was going to say.

"I intend to marry you," said Lady Prudence, bluntly. "You need not attempt to butter me up with small talk as if we were on a first date like children. We are adults and we both agreed to the engagement."

Kirsch felt a spike of annoyance, but he said, politely, "A husband and wife should know each other well. How else are we going to learn about each other if we don't talk?"

"You are a clearly a fool," said Lady Prudence. Then, she went on what equated to a rant, though she didn't raise her voice or emote in any way, "Marriage is a contract. We do not need to be friends. I don't intend to ever see you as more than a means to an end. When we marry, I expect you to quit your job as a Magic Knight. I won't have my husband getting killed on a missions, especially when our two future children will need a parental caretaker. And I'd rather have a house-husband attend events at the University with me than a Magic Knight. It's an embarrassment that you dirty yourself with service as a Magic Knight as a royal and I will not be embarrassed at the University."

"Excuse me," asked Kirsch, all pretenses of politeness erased from his mind. He was many things, but a push-over was not one of them.

"Are you stupid too?"

When he told this story to Levi later, Kirsch knew he would be teased for going full Vice-Captain Lecture Mode on her.

However, right now, Kirsch was having none of this, tranquil fury running through his veins, as he put his hands on his hips and he said, "I don't know who you think you're talking to, but respect is a two-way street. This is absolutely unacceptable behavior coming from a member of a noble house of the Clover Kingdom. Do you have no manners? Do you think you are so much better than everyone else that you have no empathy? I'm going into this agreement with good intentions to be a proper husband, not a brow-beaten trophy husband. I, Kirsch Vermillion, am no one's trophy husband, do you understand me, lady? And children? We will not be having any children, if you intend to use them as props for the advancement of your career. You need to take a hard look at yourself and ask if you are okay with who you are, because I find you utterly despicable."

Lady Prudence's eyes were wide in shock and she nearly gaped at him.

"What? Nothing to say now? Have you never gotten scolded for your unacceptable behavior," asked Kirsch, still very furious.

She didn't respond.

Kirsch stared at her.

The silence was deafening as they both started back to the house. Kirsch wondered if he just ruined this engagement. Not that he was looking forward to marrying this horrid woman, but it'd bring trouble to the Vermillion House. Still Kirsch didn't regret scolding her as if she were one of his subordinates.

Entering the house, the Esmond parents were expectantly waiting with Kirsch's parents (who were bored out of their mind, though still being polite). To his utter shock, Lady Prudence said, in a simpering tone, "Oh, Father, Mother, Lord Kirsch is a most wonderful man and I cannot wait to marry him."

Kirsch tried to not show surprise, as he glanced over at Lady Prudence. As the Esmond parents were distracted with cheerfully shaking hands with Kirsch's parents, his future wife gave him a smirk and the look in her eyes told him that she was on a mission.

She moved closer to him and whispered, so softly that only he heard, "I'm going to crush you under my heels, Lord Kirsch." She moved away so quickly to hug her parents in fake cheer and enthusiasm.

Jaw set, Kirsch realized that he just entered a very dangerous situation, one more dangerous than the one with Tuccia earlier that week, and he was exhausted already.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Headquarters**

Zora returned with Finral sometime after sunset at the Black Bulls' house. They entered the house, which was quiet. Magna was busy throwing a blanket over Vanessa, who had gotten drunk early today, and Charmy, who was in a food coma. "Hey, guys, how was your trip?"

"Good. Where's Finesse," asked Finral about his girlfriend/future wife.

"She went to bed. Asta, Noelle, and Gauche got sent off on a mission. Grey is hiding in her room. And I don't know where the others went," said Magna. "There's leftovers for once."

"Wow, surprise, surprise," drawled Zora, who hadn't seen leftovers in this house ever. "Is Charmy sick?"

"Don't think so," said Magna. Magna, Finral and Zora sat at the table and split the leftovers. "Did you get your answers, Zora?"

"Sort of," said Zora, taking a bite of the pork brisket, the tangy barbeque sauce made him cringe.

"What Zora means," Finral said, "is that he's more confused than ever."

Magna snorted, "Well, that's not good. What do you intend to do?"

Zora shrugged, "I don't know." Finral and Magna traded looks. Zora wanted to smack their heads together. Other than Asta, these two idiots were his closest friends in this squad. And Zora told them things that he would never even talk, except maybe with Kirsch. "What?"

"Did you figure out your feelings?"

Chomping on a biscuit, Zora debated telling them. He figured that since Finral was in a successful relationship and Magna was surprisingly good at advice, he should say something. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Kirsch."

Finral choked on some food, as Magna patted the spatial user's back. Magna grinned, "So what's the problem?" It took some time afterwards, but he eventually told Finral and Magna that Kirsch had confessed that fateful morning when Levi came to get him. Zora knew that everyone in the squad figured it out, but knew better than to ask.

"What if I'm just imagining it? I ain't never had someone like that before," said Zora, grimacing as he ate more meat. "Geezus, Charmy, why can't you put less spice in here?"

"Zora, why don't you go on a date with someone that you're compatible with, before confessing to Kirsch to see if you can connect with someone else in a romantic way," asked Finral, deep in thought. "A group date wouldn't work for you, but I'm sure there's someone that'd go for you, other than Kirsch!"

"Insulting," said Zora, deadpan.

Magna said, loudly, "I know the perfect person!"

"What," Zora and Finral asked shocked.

"And she won't get upset if doesn't work out, this is perfect."

_~to be continued_


	8. Chapter 8

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm**  
**Nean**

He was never listening to Magna ever again. Why did he possibly think this date was a good idea?

"I'm never listening to Master Fanzell ever again," said Zora's date for the evening. Mariella, the former assassin from the Diamond Kingdom, had graciously agreed to do Zora's experiment in dating. They had worked together previously and got along well. They were at a restaurant in the town of Nean, recommended by Finral, and eating a too bland dinner while sitting across from each other in near silence. Mariella wasn't a talkative person, and Zora wasn't either.

It had been a week since Zora figured out his feelings for Kirsch and it made Zora antsier than he liked to admit to anyone.

The date wasn't terrible per say, but it topped Zora's list of awkward moments he'd rather never live through again. He was dressed in a nice outfit that Vanessa had bought for him as a gift that he never wore before and Mariella was in a pretty dress that she definitely borrowed from Dominante.

"This was a bad idea," said Zora, sighing.

"Why did you agree to it," asked Mariella, curious.

"Because I spent all my time rooting out corrupt Magic Knights and training, I'm unprepared when there's someone that wants to have a relationship with me," said Zora. "I just want to make sure that I'm not imagining feelings."

"Oh, I understand," said Mariella. "I, too, have a difficult time processing emotions and feelings due to my training as an assassin. But I think that you're so worried about this person's heart that it should tell you right away your answer to whatever you're looking for, Zora."

Zora stared at her. "No wonder Asta thinks highly of you. You're pretty quick."

"I only came on this date because Master Fanzell and Miss Dominante seemed so happy, like parents," said Mariella, flushing red.

"We're both messes, aren't we?"

Mariella smirked. "Also, we got an Asta-brand lecture on friendship and teamwork."

Zora snickered. "Don't remind me."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**DREAM WORLD**

Kirsch knew he was in Captain Dorothy's dream-scape when he saw floating chairs. He must have fallen asleep at his desk again, stressing over the fact that his fiancée had sent him a schedule for dates and the influx of missions that he, himself, would have to attend to some of them. It didn't help that it was hard to sleep at night, because his pining for Zora took to whole new levels since their kiss.

"Kirsch, I sensed your distress, what can I do to help," asked Captain Dorothy, appearing before him seating a cushioned chair. A chair pulled up behind Kirsch and forced him to sit down and a table with the fixings for a tea party appeared before them. "Tell Big Sis what's up?"

"Captain," said Kirsch, "how's your rest?"

"Fine, don't chance the subject," replied Captain Dorothy, with a big smile.

Kirsch grimaced. "Zora's on my mind more lately."

"Since the kiss," his beloved Captain interjected. His face must have shown something, because then Captain Dorothy said, "I found out from Levi. But continue."

"My pining has gotten out of hand, especially since I met my fiancée and she's awful. She's trying to bend me to her will, as if I'm her toy," he complained. "She sent me a schedule, not even a letter, with all the events she wants me to go to with her. I'm a Magic Knight Vice-Captain, does she think that I have time for parties and academic events? There's been a rise in missions that require the squads' attention." Kirsch launched into the story, telling her about his first meeting with Prudence Esmond, as Captain Dorothy listened.

When he was finished ranting, Captain Dorothy made herself a cup of tea and took a sip. "Kirsch, may I be blunt with you?"

"Captain, when have you not?"

She nodded her head, "Good point. So, why do you have to marry this woman, then? What's the worst that can happen if you don't? It's clear that you won't be happy. She's obviously looking for someone that she can control. That person can't be you because you're not a weak, easily controlled person."

"Captain, how much do you know about marriage politics," Kirsch asked.

"Lord Julius gave me the basics, but I'm afraid that he was more concerned with teaching me about other matters," said Captain Dorothy.

Kirsch frowned. "Royals and Nobles are not their own person. My parents were a last-minute betrothal. Look at the situation with Finral, Langris, and Lady Finesse. Do you remember when I told you about the courier missions Zora and I went on a few years ago, where we learned that Mimosa's hand in marriage was being used as a bargaining chip?"

"I recall that seeing Zora protective of Mimosa put him in your good books," said Captain Dorothy.

"Well, when I went to talk to Uncle Aldebrand after it, while Zora did the mission paperwork," said Kirsch. He sighed. "Uncle was very apologetic about it, but we were in a bind. Grandfather Maximillian had previously made deals with two noble families—the Esmond and the Pike. The Esmond run a town in the Noble Realm, while the Pike run Windlass Town. And this is where the trouble started."

"What kind of deals?"

"Mainly for the Esmond and Pike families' unwavering support of the Vermillion in Magic Parliament," said Kirsch. "In turn, the two noble families would get advantageous marriages by marrying into our House."

Captain Dorothy had a pinched look on her face. "I don't like where this was going."

"Originally, Captain Mereoleona was supposed to marry the now-current head of the Pike Family," said Kirsch, shrugging. "But you know my cousin…so when that fell through Cousin Fuegoleon was supposed to marry the youngest sister of Lord Cornelius Esmond."

"Oh, I know this part," said Dorothy. She was very aware of the story concerning Fuegoleon's betrothal—how he fought against it in order to marry Sal, which almost destroyed both their Magic Knight careers in the process and caused Fuegoleon's standing among the royals to fall.

"At the moment, Leopold is engaged to marry the oldest daughter of Lord Pike," said Kirsch. "And Mimosa was going to be betrothed to the oldest son of Lord Pike, as a result of my two older cousins saying no. This was what my Uncle told me. I couldn't do anything to get Leo out of it, but I wasn't letting Mimosa marry anyone unless it was the person she loved and who loved her in return. So I agreed to the engagement with Lady Prudence, if only for Mimosa."

"You just didn't plan on falling in love with Zora," said Captain Dorothy, giving him a soft look. "And knowing Leopold, that engagement won't last either. And what about Lady Tarian's sons, the twins?"

"Nat and Theo? Hah, that's a joke, right, Captain," laughed Kirsch. "Nat isn't interested in anyone and Theo is only interested in men. And they aren't exactly the type to settle down."

"So, what? It's up to you then? To be miserable," asked Captain Dorothy, displeased. "They shouldn't be making you honor a dead old man's deal."

"Except in the past years, the Esmond and Pike families have become loud voices in the noble class and the Vermillion are on shaky standing with Kira Clover and the majority of other nobles. And the Silva is no place to help since Cousin Nozel took it over," said Kirsch, sighing. "Magic Parliament is much more cutthroat than you think."

"Kirsch," said Captain Dorothy, tensely, "are you gonna try to make things work with this Prudence woman?"

"No one is all bad," said Kirsch, sighing again. "I think I have to try."

"What about Zora?"

Kirsch closed his eyes and said, "I wonder if this is how Cousin Fuegoleon felt when he realized that he'd couldn't be with Sal, because it sucks."

"Except Fuegoleon fought for his love," said Captain Dorothy, sternly. "Doesn't your love for Zora deserve the same consideration?"

"Of course it does," said Kirsch, immediately getting a bit irritated. "But the fact remains that Zora thinks of me as a friend. I won't force my feelings on him. And so, it's okay if I get married for the sake of my family."

Captain Dorothy rubbed her eyes and said, "Kirsch, you're the most stubborn brat among a family of the most stubborn people in the Kingdom."

"Captain…" He couldn't argue her point.

"And it's not a compliment. You Vermillion drive me up the wall sometimes!" With that, Captain Dorothy disappeared and left Kirsch to his dreams.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Headquarters**

"Are you sure it's okay that I didn't take you back home," asked Zora, as they flew down from their brooms to the surrounding area around the Black Bulls base. Mariella insisted she take him home, since she needed to go in that direction anyway for something she was working on for Sal Vermillion. Zora agreed.

"Yeah," said Mariella. As they walked the short distance to Zora's home from where they landed, she continued, "And I wanted to give you some advice."

"Oh," asked Zora, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I think you should ask that person out on a date. I'm sure you'll have a much better time with that person than with me," stated Mariella. "Put all your feelings out there and see what happens."

"Yeah, you're probably right," replied Zora. "Good night, don't die."

"Same to you," said Mariella before she flew back off into the sky on her broom. Zora waved goodbye at her and once she was out of his line of sight, he entered his house. He was immediately pounced on by Finral and Magna.

"How'd it go?"

"Did it work?"

"Get off," said Zora, shrugging his two friends off of him. "I'm tired and going to bed." He rushed off to get upstairs to his room, before they asked more questions. Because Zora knew the answer to his jumbled feelings.

Zora was gonna ask Kirsch out on a date and then confess and hope that Kirsch would still accept him.

And then, maybe, Kirsch won't get married and leave him.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Office of Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion**

Kirsch woke up, face down on his desk. He did fall asleep in his office again. He sighed and sat back up from his weird position as his back made creaking and cracking noises. His neck hurt too. His paperwork was still on the desk. Sometimes, he wanted it to magically get done without him having to do it.

He looked at the schedule of events his fiancée sent him, and then the list of missions that needed to be done. While he was still engaged and having only met his fiancée once, Kirsch decided that he was going to make an effort. So, he pulled out a stationary paper and an envelope. He addressed it to Lady Prudence's office at the University. He wrote a quick note to her.

"_Professor Esmond,_

_Next time you want to ask me to come with you to an event, do so by actually asking me and not by sending me a schedule as if I'm your servant._

_I have much work to do as Vice-Captain and missions need to be completed, so I cannot attend any events but the one tomorrow. If this is acceptable to your ridiculously high standards, then I will attend and I will wear my normal Magic Knight clothes, as I might be needed ASAP by my squad._

_Regards,_

_Lord Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion_

_P.S. – Perhaps, you should worry about your academic endeavors, like teaching and writing papers, instead of spending all your time brown-nosing and attending parties."_

Kirsch nodded at what he wrote. She thought she was going to break him, but she had another thing coming. Kirsch became a Vice-Captain for a reason, after all. He folded the note and got it ready to be sent out.

He sighed, and he was highly tempted to write a letter to Zora, as they hadn't spoken to each other since they returned to Grimmtowne. But he wanted to give Zora space and not be so intrusive. Zora would come to talk to him when he was ready and by then, Kirsch was sure that he'd be over the kiss. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably not. But Kirsch should be able to be composed around Zora.

"Vice-Captain! Captain Dorothy started a bubble attack again," screeched someone who slammed open the door to his office. "And it's the peppermint bubbles of doom again!"

"Coming!"

There was no time to waste, work needed to be done.

_~to be continued_

* * *

Notes:

More chapters coming soon!


	9. Chapter 9

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Early Morning**

The next morning, Zora was started awake by someone pounding on his bedroom door. Annoyed, Zora climbed out of bed and walked to his door, before it was broken open by an irate Yami. Zora jumped back when it was too late and his door was broken.

"What the fuck, Captain," asked Zora, tiredness gone, glaring at Captain Yami.

"You have a mission," said Captain Yami, bags under his eyes, meaning that it must still be early. "Damn that bowl-haircut guy waking me up at 5 in the morning." Yami shoved a bunch of crumpled papers.

"Oh, geez, Captain, thanks," said Zora, using a strong amount of sarcasm. He took the mission information and was glad that it was still readable.

"Just get it done, Zora," said Captain Yami. Taking a hard look at Zora, his captain continued, "You'd probably get going before the rest of the dumbasses wake up."

Zora grimaced. "Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep, Captain. Let me do my job."

Thankfully, Captain Yami left. Zora sighed at the sight of his broken door. He'd leave a note for Henry to fix it for him while Zora was on his mission. And he was setting up a trap so that no one would enter his room without his permission, knowing the nosy people in his squad. Shaking his head after setting up the trap, Zora got dressed, and grabbed his travel bag.

Downstairs, he grabbed the food that Charmy set aside for him and made a mental note to ask Kirsch to make him that beef jerky again. Zora sighed. When he came back from his mission, he was going to talk to Kirsch properly. It had to be done. But being a Magic Knight came first.

Once he was thoroughly prepared by reading over the papers sent to him, he left the house as soon as he heard the first stirrings of his housemates getting ready for the day. Hopefully, this mission was going to take too long, as he flew off his broom towards his destination.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Mid-Morning**

As Captain Dorothy was annoyed with Kirsch, it took Kirsch and Cornelia twice as long to get Captain Dorothy ready for the Captains' Meeting. It didn't help that Cornelia knew somehow it was Kirsch who had annoyed their Captain and therefore, she was annoyed with him too. But once, they got her ready, Kirsch flew himself and Captain Dorothy to the Capital and the Magic Knight Headquarters.

Landing at the front entrance to the Magic Knight headquarters, he spotted Yuno and Mimosa touching down at the same time. He stood Captain Dorothy up. The strange thing about the Captain was that she was able to sleep standing up and even walk as long as someone guided her. "Morning, Yuno, Mimosa!"

"Kirsch, Captain Dorothy," greeted Yuno, with a nod of his head. Bell was sleeping on top of Yuno's head.

"Brother, Captain Dorothy, good morning," said Mimosa, cheerfully. "Do you want Yuno to take Captain Dorothy to the Captain's meeting room?"

Kirsch shook his head, and said, "No, it's my responsibility."

Giving him a deep stare, Yuno spoke in that same level-tone he spoke to everyone but Asta, "Except when you had no choice but to let Captain William help."

Kirsch laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. And I am asking Mimosa for a favor later by bringing Captain back to Coral Peacocks, anyway."

Kirsch led Captain Dorothy inside. Yuno and Mimosa stuck with him as they walked through the corridors of headquarters to the Captains' Meeting Room. The meeting room wasn't too far away from the entrance. Kirsch quickly sat Captain Dorothy in her seat, as Yuno took his seat. One of the other Captains or the Wizard King himself tended to give the "minutes" of the meeting to Kisch at the end anyway. If the Coral Peacocks needed something, Kirsch had to get it from Captain Dorothy via dreams and write it out to send ahead of a meeting.

Once Captain Dorothy was happily sleeping away in her seat, Kirsch and Mimosa left the Captain's room and headed to their own Vice-Captain's meeting. Generally, the Vice-Captain's meetings were brief (unless it was an emergency) and they spent the rest of the time waiting for their Captains to be finished with their meetings.

A couple doors down was the Vice-Captain's Meeting Room. Kirsch let Mimosa enter first and he followed her. The rest of the Vice-Captains were already there, begging the question why none of the Captains but Yuno and Captain Dorothy in the meeting room yet. They had a full table for once.

Finral was the Black Bulls' Vice-Captain. Vivian Shipley was the Silver Eagles' Vice-Captain, recently having her captain changed from Nozel Silva to Langris Vaude. Randall Luftair of the Crimson Lions was the only Vice-Captain that had seniority on Kirsch. Lerola Roselei was the Blue Rose's Vice-Captain and had become Vice-Captain just after Kirsch did. Erica Putnam was the Vice-Captain to Purple Orcas' Kaiser Granvorka. Thank goodness for it too, since Kirsch didn't get along with the previous Vice-Captain of the Purple Orcas, Xerx. Mackenzie Ruford managed the mad house that was the Azure Deer. En Ringard was the Green Mantis' Vice-Captain. And of course, there was Kirsch's precious sister Mimosa, who was the Golden Dawn's Vice-Captain under the direction of Captain Yuno.

It was rare to have so many solid Vice-Captains supporting the Captains at one time, though it was a very good thing. It meant that the Magic Knights were stronger for having all the Vice-Captain positions filled, unlike before the War with the Elves and against the Word Magic Demon when they did not.

Kirsch took his seat between Lerola and Finral. It was a good thing too, because he wanted to ask Finral about Zora before Marx (or Sal, who rarely led these meetings) arrived to lead the Vice-Captains' meeting. Kirsch did want to have a talk with Zora about what had happened in Grimmtowne and make sure that Zora still wanted to be his friend.

"Ah, Finral, how's Zora today," he whispered to the Black Bulls' Vice-Captain. Lerola heard too but gratefully, she ignored them.

"Oh," said Finral, a conflicted look on his face for a brief moment. "He left early this morning on a mission. Of course, he did it without saying a word to anyone, but you know him."

Kirsch nodded. It was very much like Zora to get a mission and go off on his own. Kirsch knew that Zora thought he worked better alone, but Kirsch knew it was out of habit. Zora hated when others worried about him. "I see. Well, it's Zora, so he'll be back soon."

Finral looked like he wanted to say something and Kirsch wondered if Zora talked to Finral like how Kirsch talked to Levi. Instead of speaking, Finral just gave Kirsch a reassuring smile. "You're right."

And then Marx AND Sal walked in. It was a surprise, but Kirsch was glad that Sal looked all better than the last time he saw her.

"We have a bit to go over, so get ready."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Lovato Town**  
**Northeast border of the Forsaken Realm**  
**Nearly Noon**

Like many towns in the Forsaken Realm, Lovato Town wasn't all that big. Lovato Town was one of the many poor farming towns in this region of the Clover Kingdom. Unlike the Hage Village, Lovato Town's primary crop was wheat, which had much more versatility than tatoes, making the town seem a lot better than others. Zora entered the town during the lunch rush for the farmhands and workers, which was all the better for him as he was looking for information.

The mission was to track down people pretending to be Magic Knights who were extorting protection fees out of innocent backwater towns who didn't know better. It annoyed Zora to no end that someone would dare sully the name of Magic Knights, especially after all the work the Magic Knights did and the improvements they made slowly but surely to become better versions of themselves.

Zora's first stop was the local church, because more often than not the money came from the church donations or the town's coffers. The town priest and the town mayor would have more information for Zora. Once he knew what he was looking for, it'd be easy to track down the losers claiming to be Magic Knights. The church was easily the tallest building in small towns so it was easy enough to find.

"Are you an actual Magic Knight or a fake," asked the Priest, who also was the Mayor, upon Zora introducing himself.

"I ain't askin' for money, that should be your first clue," said Zora, rather annoyed at the doubt. "Now, do you know what these guys looked like and how many were they?"

"There were five of them, four of them wore hooded cloaks, but the ring leader was a young looking woman," said the Priest. "I can't recall what she looked like, though she was very nice, so I didn't think to question that they needed the money and food."

Zora sighed. It seemed like the Priest's mind had been muddled with some sort of magic. It wasn't the best thing, but it wasn't the end of the world. Zora would just have to find them without knowledge of the appearance of the young woman ringleader with four men in cloaks. It was giving Zora vibes of the Eye of the Midnight Sun again and he didn't like it.

"Does our kingdom attract cults, what the heck," Zora muttered to himself. Then to the Priest, Zora said, "Thanks, Father. Next time don't give anyone money because no true Magic Knight would do such a thing. You can give them a meal not a whole farm, alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Magic Knight," said the Priest, dutifully chastised.

Sighing again, Zora knew that he wasn't going to find any leads inside the town, but rather, outside of it. He left the town, but checked the border of it for any debris from a group of people not from this area. He circled the town four times before he finally found something! It was a knife, but not just a run-of-the-mill knife, it was a fancy, ornate one and not something an average person from the Forsaken Realm could afford.

From where he found the knife, he found tell-tale signs of people passing through the area and picked the southwest direction into the nearby forest as the most likely route to the next town, which was Magna's hometown of Rayaka. Zora didn't have to worry about Rayaka getting extorted since Miss Shula was there and she knew how to detect one's bullshit. On the other hand, if there was a fight, then Miss Shula would be alone as most of that town were old and kids.

Zora picked up his speed. He had no time to waste. And once he got on the path, it became more apparent that these people weren't hiding their tracks, either from overconfidence or because it was a trap for whatever Magic Knight came for them.

Thirty minutes later, Zora lost the trail but found himself in a clearing in the middle of the forest. And Zora knew that this was a trap of some kind. Too bad for the enemies that Zora knew traps very well.

So, Zora stood there, grimoire ready, when he heard the sound of chains before he saw them. Twenty chains came towards him, with the intent of capturing him in a binding spell, but Zora easily dodge and use his ash magic to disintegrate the chains. Chain magic was familiar to Zora, but he wondered why.

And then Zora remembered about ten years ago when he kicked some wannabe Magic Knight's ass for harassing some girls at a bar and anonymously reported that guy to the Wizard King's office.

"Damn it, stop moving!" It was definitely a man's voice yelling at Zora.

Zora smirked. "Not happening, loser." The chains kept coming, when a geyser of steaming hot water came at Zora. He had no choice but to dodge that since his ash magic was weak against water magic. He got cut on the torso by one of the chains in passing. Zora wasn't as good at sensing mana presences as Luck, but Zora knew that there were more than two people there. "Ganging up on just one guy is pretty pathetic."

The taunt got them to reveal themselves, and while they had Zora surrounded, Zora knew he could take them. People were so easy to manipulate when they thought they were better than you. There were about fifteen men, whose faces Zora recognized from encounters in the past.

"So, it wasn't some random people pretending to be real Magic Knights, but the wannabes who had been Magic Knights. Still scum I see," said Zora. He flipped to a page in his grimoire. "I'll just hafta prove to you idiots that you can never be real Magic Knights!"

But before he could unleash his spell, there was another person who appeared, someone very familiar, someone who should be in the dungeon. Zora cursed. "Tuccia? You ain't supposed to be here! We defeated you!"

Tuccia the Storybook Illusion Witch stood before him. She had a smirk on her red lips. "Oh? Did you think you actually beat me? Or was it some poor girl who had been under my spell to look and act like me? You'd think I'd leave my grimoire out in the open? Haha! I fooled you good!"

Zora scowled. "So, we were just a part of your plan to escape the old Wizard King's magic prison, huh? Knew it was too easy." It meant that a girl who had been bewitched was unlawfully imprisoned.

"Ever the clever one, Zora! I met these nice gentlemen here who had a bone to pick with you, and I decided to help! After all, the easiest way to get to Prince Kirsch is through you," laughed Tuccia, haughtily. "I'd like to keep Prince Kirsch for myself, after all."

Zora gritted his teeth. This wasn't the time to panic. Sweat began dripping down his face. He used "Ash Explosion" to divert the attention. Zora wasn't an idiot enough to think that'd be able to take down Tuccia on his own. The other unnamed losers, maybe, but an ancient witch, not by himself. He took out the magic communication device. He had been given one ages ago, since he had the habit of going off on his own and doing what he wanted. It was connected to Captain Yami's device.

"Oi, Captain, there's a little trouble. I could use some backup!" He said into the device, as all sixteen of his enemies attacked. "SON OF A GODDAMN BITCH!" Dropping the magic communication device, Zora used his trap magic spells to get himself sky-bound like stepping stones, but then before him, his enemies quadrupled in number. Zora sighed and said, simply, "Fuck."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Capital**  
**The University of Clover**  
**Noon**

Kirsch stood off to the side by the cracker and cheese table, while his fiancée Professor Prudence Esmond spoke to several gray-haired royal men. He had promised to attend the one event he was able and it just so happened to be after the Captain and Vice-Captains' meetings. Mimosa and Yuno took Captain Dorothy home safely for him, so that Kirsch could suffer at a University faculty event before the start of the next semester.

It was such a bad decision. Kirsch wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He had University-trained tutors growing up as did his sister, but most of his skills and knowledge were centered on becoming a better Magic Knight Vice-Captain. But talking about dusty tomes of droll history, or discussing the differences between metaphors and allegory, or speaking about the world through math and science wasn't exactly something Kirsch was interested in doing.

"Well, well, I can't believe you're actually here with Prudence, Vice-Captain Kirsch," said someone, who finally dared approach him. He stood out in his normal outfit and his Coral Peacock's robe. "I swore I thought my brother was joking."

"Your brother being," asked Kirsch, as he wasn't familiar with her.

"Ah, forgive me, we've never met. I'm a Professor of Language and Literature, Viola Lunettes, my little brother is Klaus of the Golden Dawn," said Professor Voila.

Klaus had been a mentor figure to both Mimosa and Yuno, so it made sense that Mimosa probably complained about the whole situation to the people closest to her in the squad. Professor Viola and Klaus didn't look alike though, not the way you can tell that Kirsch and Mimosa were siblings immediately. Professor Viola had curly black hair, green eyes and wore a suit, looking every bit a professor as he remembered.

"Ah, Klaus' sister. Nice to meet you," said Kirsch. "Your brother had looked out for my sister a lot."

"He's fond of her, Asta and Yuno," said Viola, smiling. "They really had an impact on him. I'm happy that he found some good friends."

Kirsch nodded. He understood the feeling of wanting the best things for a younger sibling. "So, are you friends with Professor Esmond?"

"Oh, absolutely not," snorted Professor Viola. She gave him a critical look that reminded Kirsch of his reading and writing tutor he had when he was a boy. "You really don't know what you're getting yourself into, do you?"

Kirsch frowned. "Um, could you please elaborate?"

Professor Viola said, whispering so that only Kirsch could hear it. "Esmond psychologically manipulates other assistant professors and some students into becoming her "followers." She runs the Philosophy Foundation, which used to be just the club students joined for extra credits and something to look good on their resumes, but now, it's something a bit more sinister. It's hard to explain unless you go to a meeting. You oughta be careful. I warn literature and language students off of her all the time. If you gotta do the betrothal thing, you might want to see about other options."

Narrowing his eyes, Kirsch said, "Just because she has a terrible personality doesn't mean that she's doing something wrong by expanding the philosophy department."

Viola shrugged, still whispering, "That's what the Headmistress says, too. But when Esmond tries to take over the kingdom, it'll be too late to say I told you so."

The thing was Kirsch never knew Klaus to be a liar and the Lunettes were a good Noble House who took care of the people of their city. Viola was most likely telling the truth and Kirsch didn't have trouble believing it was the case. But then again, Kirsch knew that he might be just looking for an excuse to get out of the marriage, so then he could pine quietly over Zora for the rest of his life.

"I'll keep the warning in mind," said Kirsch. Perhaps, he should speak to Sal and see what she'd think about what Viola told him. Sal was a good investigator, after all.

"And you didn't hear it from me," said Viola, straightening her posture and smiling. "Have a good evening, Vice-Captain Kirsch." She walked away from him, leaving Kirsch with even more thoughts.

"Do you know her," asked Prudence, appearing out of nowhere.

"She's a colleague's older sister," replied Kirsch, evenly.

"I do not want you talking to her," said Prudence.

Kirsch bit the inside of his mouth to prevent himself from snapping. "I can talk to whomever I want." Why did this woman insist on making Kirsch's decision to try to make the engagement and marriage work? Why was she like this as a person? Why was she so difficult?

"Not anymore you can't." And then, Prudence pulled out a piece of paper. "Since I do not wish for you to embarrass me, these are the people you may no longer interact with or speak to from now on, future husband of mine."

This was just as bad as the schedule she sent him. Was this what Voila had meant when she said that Prudence had followers?

He grabbed the list and skimmed it. Of course, it was everyone he was known to be friendly towards from his fellow Magic Knights to his own family members, including his cousins Nat and Theo. He had half-expected Mimosa's name to be on the list. And at the bottom of the list was the name "Zora Ideale" in all caps. Kirsch's eye twitched in annoyance. The anger bubbled up in his chest.

The Vermillion House forgive him, but he was done.

Just because Zora wasn't in love with him, Kirsch wasn't going to give up his friendship with Zora. Kirsch and Zora were friends built over years of comradery, fighting alongside each in battle. There was nothing more that Kirsch wanted to do was to see and talk with Zora again. Who was some person just to assume that because you got married, you weren't allowed to have friends? What kind of nonsense was that?

"I'm leaving," said Kirsch, walking away. She didn't deserve his time nor was she worth the anger.

Prudence grabbed his sleeve and smiled up at him with a hard smile on her face. "You are staying until the event is over."

"No," said Kirsch, jerking his arm to get her to release his sleeve. "Have a good day."

He stormed away fabulously. Prudence really made the decision to get out of this marriage too easy. Kirsch wasted no time but finding his way out of the maze that was the University of Clover. Suddenly, Marx's face appeared in front of him while Kirsch was in one of the hallways.

"What?"

"_Vice-Captain Kirsch, get back to HQ, we have a Magic Knight-in-distress situation!"_

"Got it, on my way! Be there in five minutes!"

Kirsch had to hurry. It was rare that this happened, so something dangerous must have happened. He hoped the Magic Knight in trouble was going to be okay.

_~to be continued_


	10. Chapter 10

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Captains' Meeting Room**  
**Just After Kirsch arrived from the University, Afternoon**

When he arrived, Kirsch was shoved between Captain Charlotte and Mimosa. Levi dragged Captain Dorothy here, so he was there. The Captains and Vice-Captains were both worried and annoyed to have to come all the way back after they just had meetings. Except, Kirsch noticed that Asta and Finral were not there and that didn't bode well.

"Alright, everyone settle down. There's a situation," said Fuegoleon. "I'm letting Yami explain."

Kirsch felt nauseous as he remembered that Finral said Zora went on a mission this morning. But it didn't mean that something happened with Zora. Anything could have happened.

Yami stood next to Fuegoleon. The Captain of the Black Bulls took a drag of his cigarette and said, "My squad member Zora sent me a call for backup, but the message got dropped and from what I heard, it was some trouble. I sent Asta, Magna, Luck and Finral immediately to where Zora should have been for his mission. We're just waiting to hear back from them."

There was an ache in his chest as he tried to control his emotions. Of course, Zora was in trouble! Then, as Kirsch evened his breaths, Levi asked who could have possibly been savvy enough to catch Zora off guard. Zora, after all, was one of the most clever and sneaky Magic Knights. He was thankful to have Mimosa grab his hand under the table, but also Charlotte grabbed his wrist. It didn't surprise Kirsch that Captain Charlotte knew that Kirsch loved Zora, since Kirsch and Captain Charlotte had been stuck in the infirmary together during the Unrequited Love Curse Incident.

Logically as a Vice-Captain, Kirsch knew that Zora was a strong Magic Knight who had worked on his own for years before making himself known to everyone during the Royal Knight Exams.

"Zora's mission was to track down some people posing as Magic Knights who were extorting money and food out of the small towns," explained Yami.

"It was a trap set specifically for Zora," said Sal, interjected. "Over the years, Zora had gone out of his way to get rid of corrupt, bad Magic Knights, so they were probably former Magic Knights who wanted revenge on Zora. Hence why they were convincing the town mayors."

Kirsch knew from his past conversations with Zora that not every Magic Knight Zora had deemed unworthy were kicked out. But still, the number who had been kicked out had been way higher than Kirsch thought. Kirsch said, surprised that his voice wasn't shaking, "So these cowards teamed up in such a high number that it caught Zora off-guard."

"What I guessed," said Yami, shrugging. To anyone that knew Yami, you'd know that his nonchalance actually hid how much he cared about his squad. Kirsch wasn't offended by the shrugging and non-panic.

Asta was on it and Zora wouldn't lose so easily to some cowards. In fact, Zora was fine. Kirsch had to repeat it in his head that Zora wasn't hurt and that he'll come home safely.

"Be it as it may," said Fuegoleon. "Sal, take Mimosa, Mackenzie and Lerola to the archives and find out the names of those Magic Knights that Zora revealed as corrupt.

"Lord Fuegoleon," shouted Marx, entering the room. "We got a message from Finral. They found Zora's last location, but all they found was signs of a struggle. Luck is tracking Zora's mana as we speak but it could be some hours. I've instructed them to continue with their search, as per your orders."

Fuegoleon nodded. "Very good. I'll send Bennett to help with the tracking." Marx nodded.

Kirsch was trying very hard not to freak out in front of all of his superiors and fellow Vice-Captains. Some people captured Zora and that fact sat in the pit of Kirsch's stomach like an anvil.

"Everyone is dismissed. Ah, Kirsch, could you keep Dorothy behind for a moment," said Fuegoleon.

Mimosa squeezed Kirsch's hand one more time before leaving him behind with his sleeping captain. Captain Charlotte gave him a stern look that he didn't know how to decipher as she left. Soon the Captains and Vice-Captains were gone, leaving Kirsch in the room with a sleeping Captain Dorothy and his cousin, the Wizard King, Fuegoleon.

"I suppose you don't actually have to talk to Captain Dorothy," said Kirsch, wryly and feeling sick to his stomach. Sal had picked up on Kirsch's feelings quickly and he doubted that Sal kept anything from her husband, who just so happened to be the Wizard King and Kirsch's older cousin.

"If I need to speak to Dorothy, she'd come to my dreams, as she does," said Fuegoleon, giving him a kind look.

Kirsch nodded. Captain Dorothy liked getting permission from people to enter their dreams, though she didn't necessarily need it. However, this meant that Dorothy spoke to Fuegoleon and most likely about Kirsch's upcoming marriage and Krisch's feelings for Zora. Captain Dorothy did so out of her love for Kirsch and wanting him to be happy. "So, are you gonna lecture me?"

"Do you know why I asked you and Zora to go and help Sal?"

Frowning, Kirsch replied, "Because you are the Wizard King and cannot play favorites with your Magic Knights."

"Yes," said Fuegoleon. "But you know how I am on the battlefield. As all Vermillion are trained." He gave Kirsch a pointed look. Mereoleona had been trained by Acier Silva. Fuegoleon and Bennett had been trained by Theresa Rapual. Leo had been trained by both Fuegoleon and Mereoleona. Theo and Nat were trained by Aunt Tarian. Kirsch and Mimosa had been trained by their mother.

**Logic over Emotion. Stay calm. Think things through and you will prevail over the enemy.**

"I've seen you two fight alongside each other before," said Kirsch, attempting to make some sort of point.

"Yes, we can do that," said Fuegoleon. "Just as many couples in the Magic Knights can fight alongside each other on the battlefield. It's always a risk, of course. I don't think I'd keep my temper in check if Sal got hurt."

Kirsch clenched his jaw shut and knew what Fuegoleon was trying to tell him. If Sal was in danger like she had been at Grimmtowne, Fuegoleon wouldn't have been able to remain his calm and collected self.

"Stay put, Kirsch," said Fuegoleon, which was not a suggestion, but an order.

"Yes, sir," said Kirsch.

He helped his sleeping Captain stand up and guide her out of the Captains' Meeting Room to meet up with Levi to go back to the Coral Peacock Headquarters. Fuegoleon was right to remind Kirsch of his duty as a Magic Knight Vice-Captain. Not only would Kirsch get into trouble with Captain Dorothy and Fuegoleon, but Zora would get mad at him too. Zora would get mad if Kirsch shirked his duty as a Magic Knight to rescue him.

So, Kirsch would have faith in Asta and the other Black Bulls and prayed for Zora's safety.

**Location Unknown**

Zora was bound in magically chains, stuck in a carriage with seven men glaring at him with their grimoires at the ready. Blood dripped down from a wound on his head, his torso ached and he was pretty sure that he had been poisoned by something that was making him woozy. It was not one of his finer moments in life. The enemies were transporting him somewhere, possibly outside of the Clover Kingdom borders into the Neutral Zone.

It'd be harder to track his mana in the wild of the Neutral Zone, so his squad-mates had better hurry up with the backup. In the meantime, Zora was going to have to come up with a plan to escape if help didn't arrive.

This sucked.

_~to be continued_


	11. Chapter 11

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Office of Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion**  
**Morning, Next Day**

Kirsch was taking a sip of his sixth cup of coffee when his door was slammed open as Barry Morton, 2nd Class Senior Magic Knight and the medic/health expert of the Coral Peacocks, stormed into the room. What's worse was Cornelia and Levi came into his office too. His danger senses skyrocketed in his brain and it wasn't just because he hadn't slept in more than a day. Barry took Kirsch's coffee cup away from him.

"Give it back," said Kirsch, half-heartedly reaching for the one thing that was keeping him awake and not suffering from anxiety-ridden nightmares.

"No," said Barry, glaring at him. Two years his junior, Barry was usually very mild-mannered and listened to his Vice-Captain, but when it came to health and wellness matters, he was an unstoppable force. "This much caffeine isn't good for you! And you need to go to sleep! You can die without it, you idiot!"

"You told on me, Levi," gasped Kirsch, not as dramatic as he normally was because he was tired as heck.

Levi gave him a hard stare. "Think of this as an intervention, Kirsch."

Kirsch winced as Levi was using his first name and not just Vice-Captain, which meant that Levi was serious and in no mood to deal with Kirsch and his nonsense. "But, it's fine…"

"You look like shit," said Cornelia, crossing her arms and also giving Kirsch a hard stare. "We know that you're worried about Zora, but he'd be pretty pissed at you if he found out that you weren't sleeping. Kirsch, you don't even have any more paperwork because you finished it all! Think about it, when have you never had paperwork?"

"Mean, you're all mean," stated Kirsch, a little hysterical. He knew he was being a bit much.

"And we told Captain Dorothy," stated Barry, as the medic went through Kirsch's filing cabinet to take Kirsch's chocolate stash.

Grimacing, Kirsch replied, weakly, "You didn't." Captain Dorothy was gonna be so mad.

Levi took pity on Kirsch. He said, "Listen, we'll set you up on your couch here and if we hear anything from HQ, we'll get you up, alright? But you have to sleep."

Staring at Levi, Barry, and Cornelia, Kirsch knew from the looks on their faces that they weren't going to relent. They were his friends. Cornelia and Levi had been with him since they all joined the Magic Knights at the same time and they had been friendly towards Kirsch even when Kirsch was unbearable. Barry cared a lot about everyone's health and well-being. They were good, kind people that Kirsch knew worried over him.

But how does Kirsch explain to them the nightmares that immediately form? Or how the worst case scenarios flitted through his mind so that he couldn't sleep at all? Or how the thought of Zora hurt and alone made Kirsch lose his breath?

"Okay," said Kirsch, after a few moments. He had no choice but to try for them.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Office of Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion**

He managed to get a couple hours of sleep. He was thankful that Captain Dorothy didn't come to give him a lecture. Granted, she was the one that gave him the couple hours of dreamless sleep. But what woke Kirsch up was a knock on the door of his office, and since he was waiting for news about Zora's rescue, he got up immediately, knocking the quilt and pillow that Cornelia had given him earlier on the floor.

"Come in," said Kirsch, throat dry from sleep. He found a canteen of water on the side table he kept next to the couch in his office. Promising to not be so hard on Barry, he took a sip as the last person he expected entered his office. "Father?"

"Morning, son, did I disturb you? That nice girl Cornelia told me that you were supposed to be sleeping," stated his father, Sazerac Vermillion. His father had a tense look on his face.

Kirsch shook his head. "Just got up. What brings you by? Is Mother okay?" Kirsch wouldn't be able to take it if something happened to his mother on top of things.

"No, no, Mama is fine," said his father. His parents were surprisingly in sync, despite their unusual approach to a marriage. When in conversation with Mimosa or Kirsch, his mother mostly referred to his father as "Papa" (if she was in a good mood) and his father always referred to his mother as "Mama." "I came to speak about the wedding."

Tensing, as he didn't want to think about that awful woman while he was worrying about Zora, Kirsch said, "Oh?"

"Mama sent me," said his father, crossing his arms and attempting to look stern, but failing miserably. "She was being very vague about it. I know you don't want to marry Prudence Esmond, and I don't blame you. But I can't help you, if you don't talk to me, Kirsch. Whatever it is, I'll listen and we'll work it out together with Aldebrand, yeah?"

Kirsch didn't know what to say or where to even start.

This was a conversation that Kirsch was not expecting to have today (or ever). While he told his mother about his feelings for Zora during the Unrequited Love Curse Incident, Kirsch never mentioned it to his father. And his father never asked.

Sazerac Vermillion wasn't a bad man and a bad father. Kirsch loved his father. And Kirsch knew that his father loved him and Mimosa with everything. His father tried to take good care of Kirsch and Mimosa when their mother had been on missions (and exiled from the Capital). Sazerac as a father wasn't particularly responsible, as he had brought a young Kirsch and even younger Mimosa on his outings with his various lady friends to gain inspiration for his poetry. If Kirsch's mother knew, she never said anything about it. And his father had an arrogance about him, certain of his greatness as a royal and a poet, something that Kirsch had thought was amazing as a young boy, who had resented his mother due to things he didn't understand back then. He wondered if the arrogance his father presented was a mask too.

Right now, however, his father was staring at Kirsch, waiting for Kirsch to be ready to talk.

Stomach churning (probably because of all the coffee and the fact that he hadn't eaten in hours), Kirsch said, "I don't want to get married, Father. Of course, I don't."

His father sat on the couch next to Kirsch. His father asked, simply, "Does it have to do with the curse from months ago?"

Kirsch bit his bottom lip. It was now or never. "Sorta."

Sighing, his father said, "I know I am…not the best parent nor a good role model for anyone. I'm not as brilliant and strong as my siblings. And I'm unreliable. But I love you, Kirsch, so please talk to me. Nothing can make me not love you."

It was a strange thing to hear that his father knew of his faults, though he pretended that he had none. His mother said generally the same thing to Kirsch during his conversation with her while he was spitting up flowers and dying. His parents felt that they failed him and Mimosa. But Kirsch didn't think so. He was going to have to speak to Mimosa about it and maybe, they needed to have a long conversation with their parents.

But at the moment, Kirsch needed to have a different conversation with his father. "When I got cursed, I hadn't known I was in love with someone at the time. But I came to realize that I was in love with Zora Ideale. You haven't met him. He's a Magic Knight in the Black Bulls. He's a friend to me and Mimosa."

"He's the one that got captured," said his father, realizing why Kirsch must be on edge . "Oh, son."

Nodding, Kirsch smiled weakly. "I did confess to him, despite knowing that he…didn't feel the same. I accepted it and got rid of the curse. We're still friends, but just because I accepted that he won't love me like the way I want him to, I _can't_ stop loving him."

His father wasted no time and pulled Kirsch into a hug. "Oh, my poor boy. It's hard loving someone who can't love you back. I'm sorry."

"Why're you sorry," asked Kirsch, mumbling, trying not to burst into tears in his father's warm embrace like he was a kid again and not a grown 23-year-old Magic Knight Vice-Captain.

"That I wasn't there for you enough to the point where you thought you couldn't talk to me. God, I can't believe that I was the one to become most like my emotionally unavailable father," said Kirsch's father, hugging Kirsch tighter.

Kirsch shook his head. "I didn't want to worry you or Mother."

"We're supposed to worry about you, Kirsch, that's our duty as your parents," his father said. "Now, do you want me to get you out of this engagement or what?"

"Please," said Kirsch.

Releasing Kirsch from the hug, his father smiled, "That's a good boy. I'll talk to my brother. And it'll work out."

"Thanks," said Kirsch.

His father's smile turned melancholic and said, "Take it from someone who didn't fight for their love—don't ever give up. If there's even a slim chance that this Zora fellow can return your feelings someday and you can't love anyone but him, don't give up, Kirsch."

Kirsch felt his face warm up.

"All done," asked his mother Nickole, entering the office with a plate of food in her hand.

"Yes, dear," said his father, nodding.

"Great. Kirsch, you eat this food," said Nickole, sternly, placing the plate on Kirsch's desk. "If I hear that you're giving trouble to Levi and them, I'll be back."

Kirsch wondered who was worse at this point, his mother or Captain Dorothy. He meekly replied, "Yes, Mother."

Satisfied with the answer, his mother looked at his father, "Saz, we're going to talk to Aldebrand?"

"Yeah, but we gotta sneak you in the Capital," said his father. Technically, his mother wasn't allowed in the Capital unless she was in the Magic Knight Headquarters.

Kirsch laughed. "Don't get in trouble."

"Never," said his parents. It didn't make Kirsch feel any better, because he knew his parents too well.

After receiving good-bye hugs from his parents, Kirsch was left in his office with no more paperwork to do and a plate of food to eat.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Office of Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion**

Kirsch felt marginally better since he did get some sleep (albeit it being two hours) and eating food his mother made for him. Except, the worry for Zora didn't cease. He hadn't heard anything from HQ, meaning that Asta and his team were still tracking down Zora's whereabouts. It made Kirsch very antsy, but he knew how much trouble he'd get into if he left on his own accord and joined them.

He paced his office, wondering if there was a way that he could help with the search for Zora, despite the orders.

"Hey, easy," said Levi, entering the office. He carried a tray with tea on it. "Barry said that you can have some tea now that you ate something."

"Oh, thanks," said Kirsch. As there were many members of the squad who enjoyed the tea time that Captain Dorothy liked to do sometimes, they had a variety of teas—many of which didn't have much caffeine in it. "Sorry if Mother took over the kitchen."

Levi rolled his eyes. "Definitely not a problem. She made us all lunch." Levi put the tray on Kirsch's desk. "Vice-Captain, you had better not be thinking of doing something stupid, yeah?"

"Never," said Kirsch, indignant, but mostly because Levi surprisingly knew him too well. It was what happened when you lived and worked with someone for eight years.

"Right," said Levi, not believing him.

"I hear your sarcasm, Levi Roe," said Kirsch, scowling.

"Kirsch, I gotta say something that you ain't gonna like."

"You always say things I don't like," retorted Kirsch. Levi was very blunt sometimes to the point it hurt Kirsch's feelings. Granted, Kirsch was the same way on occasion. It usually led to them arguing.

"I think you should confess again to Zora," said Levi, sighing.

Kirsch stopped pacing and stared at Levi. "Why?" His father essentially said the same thing, but Kirsch didn't know if he wanted to put his heart out there (again), just to get it broken (again).

"Because things change," said Levi. "People change their mind. Anyone with eyes can see how you look at Zora. And Zora is very aware of you in a way that friends aren't, you know? I'm just saying."

Kirsch gaped at him, "You think I have a chance?"

"Hey, Mackenzie gave me the time of day," said Levi, pointing at himself about his Azure Deer girlfriend, Kirsch's fellow Vice-Captain. And it was a big deal that Mackenzie, the ever-reliable woman, accepted Levi's feelings. Levi was a nice, helpful guy and a good Magic Knight, but Levi never matched his socks, ate ridiculously spicy food, forgot sunscreen, and had no skin and hair care routine that made him a disaster in Kirsch's eyes. "Zora might have changed his mind."

"Or he hasn't, and he's just aware that my feelings make our friendship awkward?"

"You're an idiot, Vice-Captain," said Levi, with no ounce of remorse for the insult.

**Location Unknown**

Exhausted from staying awake for hours as he waited for his chance to escape, Zora was chained in a dungeon of some kind. His grimoire was sealed away from him, as Sal's had been when she was stuck in Grimm Castle. He knew that they were in the Neutral Zone as the air was ripe with natural mana. His friends must have lost the trail so Zora knew they weren't coming any time soon, though they'd eventually get there to try to save him. Zora had to save himself before Tuccia went through with her plan.

Or he'd die trying.

Unfortunately for his captors, Zora wasn't allowed to die. He could just imagine how worried the Black Bulls were about him. No doubt, Mimosa knew and Zora didn't want to be a reason that she cried. He was weak against her tears. Zora had unfinished business with Kirsch, who no doubt was pacing his Vice-Captain's office wondering if he should break the rules and come after Zora himself. Zora didn't want Kirsch to cry anymore because of Zora either.

There were people he cared about what happened to him and so death may come for him one day, but not today.

"There's no way out for you," said Tuccia, entering the dungeon cell. She changed her outfit to something incredibly fluffy and made her stand out more against the backdrop of a smelly, dark dungeon. She came to kneel next to Zora, who barred his sharp teeth in warning. Zora wasn't above biting someone to hurt them. "I know you've been thinking and thinking about how you can get out before your friends come for you. Or before Prince Kirsch comes for you."

Zora snorted. "What got you so fixated on him, huh?"

"His big heart, Zora Ideale," said Tuccia, tilting her head as if she was some cute girl and not an evil witch. "As long as I have you, he'll come here eventually."

Zora smirked. "That guy is a Magic Knight Vice-Captain for a reason. I know him. He's not coming."

"But he loves you. I looked into his heart back at the Grimm Castle," said Tuccia, giggling. "I mean, like, he really loves you. I was surprised that a royal could have such strong, warm feelings. Which is why I want him. I'm gonna eat him."

It was like a cold ice-cube lodged itself in Zora's heart. He snarled, the chains rattled as he strained to try and bite her. "You ain't fucking touching him, you evil asshole."

She moved away before he got her, laughing at him. She clapped. "Oh! Do you love him too? I suspected as much, but for some reason, I can't see into your heart to know for sure. I wonder why."

"Fuck off," snapped Zora. This Tuccia witch was getting him very, very angry. He hadn't felt this much rage in years. "You're not getting near him. And I'm gonna kick your ass and take you in for real this time."

"Hahah, you're in no condition to be making threats," replied Tuccia, standing up and dusting herself off. Then, she put her hands behind her back, trying to be cute as she mocked him.

Gritting his teeth together as he tried to summon his grimoire with every ounce of anger he felt against Tuccia, with every ounce of worry and affection for his friends, with every ounce of love he had for Kirsch, Zora pulled his arms forward, straining the chains. "You don't know me very well. I'm a goddamn Black Bull! And now's the time for me to surpass my limits."

Screams were heard as Zora's grimoire burst into the cell by disintegrating the walls and slamming itself into the taunt chains, effectively breaking them. Grabbing his grimoire as it went wild as new spells appeared in its pages for Zora's use, he said, standing up, "Looks like it's time to go through with my threat."

"But your grimoire was sealed away…!" Tuccia was shocked.

"Funny thing about my grimoire," said Zora, baring all his shiny, sharp teeth in a blood-curdling smile. "It's a little unstable and not easy to contain. Your loss."

Tuccia shook her head. "No matter! We outnumber you!"

Before Zora admitted that the number of enemies were a problem, he heard screaming and smelled a familiar smell of lightning and flames. Luck and Magna arrived, which meant that Zora's friends were here. Chuckling, Zora said, waving his hand over his grimoire to his favorite spell page, "Like I said, your loss. I'm not getting tricked again."

Tuccia let out an unholy scream. And the fight began.

_~to be continued_

* * *

Notes:

Ahhhhh, let me know what you think! I was pretty excited for this chapter.

Kirsch talking to his dad was supposed to mirror the conversation he had with his mom in Gladiolus. I hope that came through.

The next chapter will be out on Saturday. And let me tell you the next two chapters are a ride.


	12. Chapter 12

BUT WARNING B/F READING:  
there's a bit of homophobia in this chapter, it's not overt, but you'll know it when you see it  
and yes it's from the character you think it is

* * *

**Location Unknown**

Tuccia's abilities were based on illusions, but the key to defeating illusions was knowing that they weren't real. Zora was dodging Tuccia's attack spells in the cramped dungeon. What he needed was to get outside to have more space to work. Being injured and poisoned meant that his body was working overtime to compensate and having to break his grimoire out of a magical prison took a hit to his mana.

"**Ash Magic: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust**" shouted Zora, as he used his magic to bust through the wall, hoping it would go outside to open spaces. He laid easy pitfalls traps on his way out, hoping that she didn't notice. He was lucky today, of course, as Tuccia chased after him. He sensed Magna's and Luck's mana nearby and heard the tell-tale sounds of the Black Bulls fighting.

"Not so fast, boy! **Storybook: Monsters in the Dark**," said Tuccia, as a mana rippled through the ground. Various monstrous creatures were formed from the ground, not unlike Sol's golems, but these creatures had color and looked like they were sentient.

Zora counted thirty monsters. Due to his traps, five were immediately taken out, but it left twenty-five 10-foot tall creatures with battering rams for arms coming at him. He cursed loudly. These were just illusions but they felt very real. Zora wondered at the difference in tactics from their previous fight. Perhaps, if she used someone as a puppet or avatar, she was limited by their person's body.

His own body was weakening under the strain of its aches and pains. Zora knew that his friends were here, so that knowledge allowed him to be a bit reckless. He turned to the new spell page in his grimoire. "**Ash Magic: Obliteration Circle!**"

Zora watched fascinated, as his new offensive spell wiped out Tuccia's monster spell. The spell didn't just destroy the creatures by anything else in its wake, including the grass and nearby trees. It took a good chunk of his mana for the spell, as everything started to ache even more. But he had to hold on in order to get Tuccia.

"Such destruction," said Tuccia, floating in the air, unfazed by his spell. "**Storybook Illusion: Red Queen Armor!**"

Zora sneered as Tuccia's fluffy, bright dress became red and silver armor, with a crown on top of her head. It looks similar to Noelle's Valkyrie armor spell. Willing himself forward, despite his eyes going out of focus momentarily from the unknown poison coursing through his veins, Zora said, "**Ash Magic: Obliteration Bullet!**"

When he was back home, he was going to have to undergo some training with Mereoleona, because these new spells took too much mana and strength out of him. This spell was derived from the one that was like an explosion, this spell was a precision cut of an assassin's blade. Zora doged when Tuccia threw ruby shards at him, as she dodged his ash magic.

This fight was dragging on too long and Zora was running out of mana. But he wasn't going to lose. He wasn't gonna let this Tuccia get near Kirsch or his friends.

"Stay still!"

"Not likely," said Zora, several bullets of his "Obliteration Bullet Ash Magic" spell hit the red and silver armor of Tuccia, causing it to slowly evaporate into ash.

Tuccia sneered. "**Storybook Illusion: The Art of Healing! **" The armor came back, negating Zora's magic. He cursed.

But then, he heard a familiar voice shout from above.

"**Demon-Dweller Sword: Black Slash!**" Asta came barreling out one of Finral's portals propelled by Luck's lightning and Magna's fire and landing the hit on Tuccia in one fell swoop. The power behind Asta's move knocked Tuccia out cold without much fanfare, having her crash into the ground, cratering it on impact.

Zora grinned as Magna, Luck, Finral and Bennett Vermillion exited Finral's portals, "You guys are late!"

Magna and Luck shouted in unison, "Zora, you bastard!"

"Screw you too, assholes," said Zora. He collapsed on the ground. Grimacing, he noted that none of them knew healing spells, "You idiots didn't think to bring a medic?"

"Always a critic, Zora," said Finral, coming over to him. Finral smiled down at Zora. "Man, we were worried. You never call for help."

"I got poisoned, by the way," said Zora, as the adrenaline from his capture and the fights wore off, the poison made his arms numb.

Face of panic, Finral opened a portal and shouted, "Guys, move it, he needs a doctor!"

And that's when Zora finally let himself pass out from exhaustion.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**House Vermillion Homestead**  
**Conference Room One**  
**Afternoon**

Working on two hours of sleep, Kirsch didn't expect that his conversation with his father mere hours ago would have him in one of the family conference rooms at the Vermillion Homestead the same day. His Uncle Aldebrand worked quickly. Lord Cornelius, Lady Priscilla and Lady Prudence of House Esmond were sitting across the table from Kirsch, Kirsch's parents and Uncle Aldebrand, none of whom were very happy at the moment. Red-faced Lord Cornelius looked about to have a freakout.

"Repeat yourself, Lord Aldebrand. I don't think I heard you quite correctly," said Lady Priscilla, her glare made Kirsch look at his clasped hands in front of him.

To his credit, Uncle Aldebrand wasn't deterred nor intimidated. Considering that his uncle argued countless verbal battles in the cutthroat Magic Parliament regularly, Kirsch expected nothing less of his uncle.

"As of this moment, my nephew Kirsch will not be marrying Lady Prudence," said his uncle. Kirsch didn't know how his uncle was going to get him out of this engagement. "It has come to my attention that Lady Prudence's actions as an assistant professor in the University are not as spotless as we had hoped."

"Excuse me? How dare you sully my reputation as an academic with baseless rumors," shouted Lady Prudence, standing up, but not shouting.

Uncle Aldebrand stared at Lady Prudence. "Your Philosophy Foundation, for one, is spouting some dangerous ideas that are the antithesis to the morals and beliefs of House Vermillion. Not to mention the fact that there is evidence of bullying and harassing other professors and even students."

"Outrageous," sputtered Lord Cornelius. "My father and your father had an agreement!"

"And if my father were alive to hear that the woman who was supposed to marry one of his grandsons was advocating anti-monarchist ideas, he'd come down much harder on you than I am," Kirsch's wonderful and amazing uncle retorted.

"You're accusing me of being an anti-monarchist," said Prudence, whose voice was getting higher and higher.

"I have evidence," said Aldebrand, plainly. "It'd be very interesting news that I'm sure that Damnatio Kira Clover would love to hear." Mentioning that guy's name shut the Esmond family up very quickly. Everyone knew the reputation of the highest judge in the land. Damnatio Kira Clover was ruthless in his need to protect the Kira Clover-led monarchy.

Kirsch was impressed. He looked at his mother, who betrayed nothing on her face. His father pretended to be confused. Did his parents and uncle actually anticipate Kirsch not wanting to get married and prepared in advance?

Lady Prudence snarled, her true colors showing once she was confronted, and pointed at Kirsch. "This is all your fault! Just because you're in love with some peasant, another man no less, you're going to ruin my life. What a coward that you couldn't break the engagement yourself that you got your mommy and daddy and uncle to do it for you."

Kirsch was going to say something, but his mother Nickole was out of her seat instantaneously and almost launched herself at Lady Prudence had his father Sazerac and his uncle Aldebrand not stopped her. Kirsch just stared as his father and uncle struggled to sit a feral Nickole Vermillion back in her seat.

"Nickole, violence isn't the answer," said Uncle Aldebrand, cautioning his stone-faced, yet furious mother who was about to hurt someone named Prudence.

"Neeks, baby, please, let's not get you arrested again," asked Sazerac, mildly, as Nickole grumbled in her seat.

"Mother, it's alright," said Kirsch, tentatively. "I don't care what she thinks. Don't get yourself in trouble for my sake."

"Watch your tongue, little girl," said his mother, venomously and a promise of pain, ignoring Kirsch, his uncle and his father.

The room went silent as Lady Prudence composed herself. "Harmless threats from a washed-up old lady don't scare me. Where did you get your so-called evidence, Lord Aldebrand?"

"From me," said the one and only 4th Class Senior Magic Knight of the Azure Deer, Clarity Esmond, entering the room, followed by another noblewoman that Kirsch hadn't met yet. Talk about a dramatic entrance! Clarity was right on time and Kirsch didn't even know she was coming.

"You! How dare you betray your own family," shouted Lord Cornelius. "You're no daughter of mine!"

"That's fine, you're no father of mine," said Clarity. Kirsch could have hugged her. Here was someone that Kirsch didn't expect to stand up to anyone with her mild disposition. Did Clarity really go out of her way to help Kirsch not make a monumental mistake? He owed her big time. "And none of you treated me like family in years. My home is in the Azure Deer squad."

"No one will ever marry you," sneered Lady Priscilla.

"You're amazingly unpleasant," said the blonde-haired and purple-eyed noblewoman, mildly. She looked at his uncle and smiled. "Sorry, we're late. Walter wanted to get the ink-stains out of dear Clarity's dress." Walter, as in Rill's butler, that Walter? What was happening?

The Esmond Family looked confused in that angry sort of way.

"Thank you for coming, Lady Clarisse," said his uncle.

"Are you Rill's mother," asked Kirsch, shocked.

"Yes," said Lady Clarisse Boismortier, cheerfully. "And I came to officially claim Clarity as my daughter-in-law. Neeks told me about poor Clarity's horrid family and I just couldn't stand the thought of this sweet girl with them." Clarisse made a show of hugging Clarity close.

Kirsch saw the family resemblance between Clarisse and Rill now. "I'm a little confused, what's going on? Mother, Father? Uncle?"

"What is this travesty," demanded Lord Cornelius.

Uncle Aldebrand cleared his throat. "Lady Clarity came to Nickole, concerned about the upcoming marriage between Kirsch and Lady Prudence. With the initial information, Nickole came to me. I had Clarity get me actual evidence, but I knew that it would put her in danger. So, Nickole spoke to Captain Rill, who in turn went to Lady Clarisse, which he said he was going to eventually do anyway. The Boismortier Noble House is more than enough to protect Clarity." It was true that the Boismortier Noble House was one of the oldest of the noble families—they had nearly been around as long as House Vermillion, House Silva and House Kira Clover. The Boismorter had been a close ally of the Vermillion for years.

Simply said, Clarity was under House Vermillion protection from any backlash from the Esmond House by being Rill's fiancée. Clarity was double lucky because she's in love with Rill and he is with her.

Lord Cornelius sneered, "Then, we have no choice. Prudence will stop her club at the University and the marriage won't proceed as planned. I expect monetary returns for the wedding things already purchased. In turn, Prudence won't get in trouble?"

"Correct, so long as she behaves herself," said Uncle Aldebrand.

With that, Prudence and her parents agreed to the terms and stormed out of the room, leaving everyone relieved that it worked out. Kirsch, however, had one concern. "Is this going to be bad for us in Magic Parliament, Uncle?"

"We're House Vermillion, Kirsch, so we shall endure," said Uncle Adlebrand. "Now, on a lighter note, I'm hungry, who's ready for lunch? Solace made enough for everyone." Lady Clarisse, Nickole and his father followed Uncle Aldebrand out of the room, but Kirsch stayed in his seat.

He was free from marriage with that woman. He breathed a sigh of relief. Clarity was still standing there. Kirsch got out of his seat. "Can I hug you?"

Clarity's eyes widened and nodded.

He hugged her gently and briefly. Kirsch said, earnestly, "Thank you, Clarity. You're very brave. If you ever need anything, don't ever hesitate to ask me."

"It's not me that you should be thanking, Vice-Captain Kirsch," said Clarity, awkwardly.

Kirsch looked at her confused. "What?"

"Ah, it was Mr. Zora's idea for me to go to Lady Nickole and tell her what I told him," said Clarity, smiling brightly at the thought.

"Zora did," asked Kirsch, heart hammering in his chest. Zora gave Clarity the push to set the whole chain of events off to save Kirsch from marrying someone he didn't love and who didn't love him? Why Zora? What does Zora do things like this that just make Kirsch love him even more? Kirsch wanted to see Zora so badly.

"Yeah, he even told me what to say to her," said Clarity, nodding. Clarity smiled softly at Kirsch as she knew something he didn't. "I hope that Mr. Zora comes home safely."

"Me too," he replied, dumbfounded.

With that, Marx's face appeared before him via the man's communication magic. Kirsch startled.

"_Zora's safely home. He's in the infirmary with some minor injuries, Vice-Captain Kirsch. He's taking visitors now,"_ Marx said, as calmly as possible.

Kirsch grinned. "Yes, thank you!" Then, Marx was gone as quickly.

"Oh, wonderful," said Clarity, pleased. "Go, Vice-Captain Kirsch! I'll tell everyone the good news."

"Thank you, Clarity, really."

Kirsch rushed out of the room and his destination was the Magic Knights Headquarters' Infirmary. Zora was back and he was safe. The happiness bubbled up inside, despite knowing that it was going to be awkward.

It didn't matter. Kirsch was going to see Zora. And that's what really mattered.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**

Kirsch's bravery left him once he got to the door of the infirmary. He hovered outside, not ready to go in yet. Pacing back and forth, he debtead internally the pros and cons seeing Zora now and waiting until he was out of the infirmary. Kirsch undoubtedly wanted to see Zora as soon as possible to alleviate his stress and worry. But on the other hand, they hadn't spoken since the Grimmtowne mission.

Oh, and there goes Kirsch remembering the damn kiss again. He covered his face with his hands and sighed.

The door opened suddenly causing Kirsch to stand up straight and pretend he just got there. It was Captain Yami Sukehiro exiting the Infirmary. The Black Bulls' Captain raised an eyebrow at Kirsch. No wonder the Black Bulls respected him, the man looked as though he saw right through Kirsch. It was terrifying. Drawling, Captain Yami said, "Zora's up. Doc's been done with him for a while now."

Kirsch nodded. And now, Kirsch had no choice but to enter. He couldn't seem like a coward in front of Captain Yami. "Thanks."

"Yeah, okay," said Captain Yami, shaking his head.

Kirsch entered the infirmary quickly so he didn't have to make any awkward small talk with Captain Yami. The first bed from the door, however, Zora sat up in the bed at Kirsch entering the room. Maskless for once, there were bandages on Zora's head and torso. He looked paler than normal.

"Hey," said Kirsch, smiling awkwardly.

Zora stared at him, blinking quickly, before saying, "Hey."

Powering through the awkward, tense air in the room, Kirsch took a seat on the chair next to Zora's infirmary bed. "I'm glad you're okay, Zora."

"Yeah, thanks," said Zora, nodding. Grinning, he continued, "So, you're never gonna believe what happened."

Kirsch's eyes widened. "What?"

"Tuccia used an avatar at Grimmtowne," said Zora. "We didn't notice, but it got her out and the person we captured was a fake." Thus, Zora launched into the story about his mission and the events that led up to the capture and the battle against the real Tuccia. How Zora obtained new spells and how Asta gave the final blow with his Demon-Dweller Sword.

Kirsch was impressed. "You broke a seal on your grimoire from another room! That's amazing."

Blushing from the praise, Zora said, "The properties of my grimoire make it a bit unstable. Perfect fit for me. I'm just glad we got Tuccia for good now. She was way too interested in eating you."

"Ugh, why are the bad guys always so weird," asked Kirsch, thinking of Sally's obsession with Asta and so on and so forth.

"Dunno," said Zora. And to Kirsch's surprise, Zora changed the subject. Zora stared at him with a hard look. "You haven't slept. Aren't you supposed to be taking care of yourself?"

Kirsch winced at the reprimand. "Ah, well, there was some business with the engagement." Kirsch was going to have to tell Zora at some point how worried he was and that's why he didn't sleep. For now, he needed to tell Zora somehow that Kirsch was officially single and maybe try to confess again.

Zora's face shut down, though, at the mention of the engagement. Kirsch never noticed before now that Zora must have done it the entire time the engagement was mentioned, but without his face mask, Zora was easier to read. "Is that so?" Zora's voice was quiet.

Kirsch smiled. "Yeah, but I rushed over once I heard you were here. I wanted to see you." Then, he realized he flubbed by not immediately saying the wedding was off. Kirsch knew his face had to be red. "Sorry, I'm making this awkward."

Shaking his head, Zora said, "It's fine."

The cute red blush on Zora's face said otherwise. This was a disaster. Kirsch just couldn't keep it together around Zora Ideale.

And that was the thing. This was the moment. Kirsch had to confess again. But he remembered the first confession and how the moment that Zora left Kirsch's room that day that Kirsch cried for hours in heartbreak. He remembered the kiss from Grimmtowne and how Zora apologized more than once, which broke Kirsch's heart all over again. There were so many things he wanted to tell Zora, but words left him.

"Don't get married." Zora spoke those words.

"What," Kirsch asked, startled.

Zora met Kirsch's gaze and said, without an ounce of hesitation, "Don't get married. Stay with me."

_~to be continued_


	13. Chapter 13

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**

Zora can't believe he just skipped over everything he wanted to say and said something so inherently selfish. Where was his brain-to-mouth filter? Was Zora still delusional from the poison and pain?

Kirsch was staring at Zora in complete disbelief. Kirsch made a noise as if he was gonna say something but no words came out of his mouth. Instead, he just stared at Zora with wide-eyes and a blush on his face that was getting redder by the second.

Scratching his cheek, Zora knew he had to be the one to say something because he hurt Kirsch enough. Why would Kirsch even bother confessing again after the first time Zora broke his heart? No, it was Zora's turn to say the sappy speech. "Kirsch, I'm not good with flowery words, but I want to make it clear. I love you. And if you're not sick of me already, I want a chance to prove it to you."

Zora stared at Kirsch, watching for his reaction. After a few minutes of them staring at each other, Kirsch let out a wet chuckle. Covering his face with his hands, he said, "If this is a dream, please pinch me." Kirsch sniffled.

Guilt settled in Zora's heart and he blurted, "Don't cry. Why am I always making you cry?" Zora was not expecting this reaction. Granted, Zora had no idea how this whole confession was gonna go in the first place.

Kirsch shook his head and breathed in and out deeply, before finally looking at Zora again. His golden eyes shining with love, love for Zora. "I love you too. I never stopped loving you. But I think you knew that already."

Zora nodded. He did know. Zora knew, every time in the last few months when Kirsch thought Zora wasn't paying attention, how Kirsch would watch Zora with such an expression on his pretty face.

Kirsch smiled, though his face was blotchy from tears and he looked like he hadn't slept in days, Zora thought that Kirsch never looked more beautiful than in this moment. "And I'm not getting married anymore. That was where I was just before, breaking the engagement."

Zora looked away for a moment to grin. Did Clarity actually do what Zora suggested after their second conversation? "That's great news."

"I would hope so," said Kirsch, who still smiled brightly. "Thank you for giving Clarity the nudge, she told me."

"Nah, it was her," said Zora, shrugging it off.

"Sure," said Kirsch, not buying it for an instant.

Changing the subject, Zora asked, "Now what? I don't exactly have any experience with, uh, being in love and all."

"I want to be with you, as long as you'll have me, Zora," said Kirsch. And then, Kirsch reached over and took one of Zora's hands in his. He squeezed it gently. "And we'll figure out everything else together."

And Zora, as he was impulsive when it came to Kirsch Vermillion, felt a strong surge of love in his whole being. So, naturally, Zora pulled Kirsch into a hug. He wasn't a hugger, not by a long shot, but Zora just wanted to hug Kirsch at this moment.

"Oh," sighed Kirsch, hugging close but mindful of Zora's injuries. "I'm so happy right now."

"Don't be crying again," said Zora, though he knew it was a lost cause since he felt the wetness on his shoulder from Kirsch.

"I honestly can't help it. I'm working on two hours of sleep and it's been a very emotionally trying time, okay," said Kirsch, laughing and sobbing at the same time.

Zora huffed in annoyance, but let Kirsch cry. He didn't know how long they were embracing, but it felt too short a time. Besides, there was something more important to do, so Zora broke the hug, though the distance between him and Kirsch remained close. He did something very unlike him. He wiped the tears off of Kirsch's face and said, "You can go to sleep now. I'm here."

Stray tears from Kirsch's eyelashes dripped down his face, as Kirsch smiled again. "Yeah, you are."

Never before had Zora an urge to kiss anyone, but he really wanted to kiss Kirsch, this beautifully ridiculous person, who cried over him in worry and with love, who made Zora feel disgustingly special.

And then, the door to the infirmary slammed open, causing Zora and Kirsch to jump apart, as Dr. Owen glared at them both. "Go home, Vice-Captain Kirsch. Let my patient get some rest."

Kirsch stood up, wiped his face. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Kirsch smiled at Zora and promised, "I'll visit you tomorrow, Zora!"

With that Kirsch had to leave, and Zora was disappointed to see him go, though he understood that Kirsch had responsibilities to attend, namely getting actual sleep. Still, it didn't stop Zora from glaring at Dr. Owen. Just a bit.

The good doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm happy for you both, but no funny business in my infirmary."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**The Next Day**

Like promised, Kirsch arrived the next day in the morning at the infirmary. After leaving the infirmary yesterday, he went home to the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters and slept from 5pm to 7am. Refreshed from sleep and showering plus performing his skin and hair routine, Kirsch made breakfast to bring Zora in the kitchens. Because he can do things like make meals for Zora without it being awkward. His overly cheerful demeanor scared his juniors, wondering what was wrong with their Vice-Captain, but Kirsch didn't care.

Zora Ideale was in love with Kirsch Vermillion and Kirsch was beyond happy. Sure, he may have embarrassed himself yesterday by bursting into tears twice, but Zora didn't seem to mind. And Kirsch was pretty sure that Zora was gonna kiss him before Dr. Owen interrupted them.

He entered the infirmary to find Zora alone, reading the paper on the infirmary bed. Thanks to the marvels of magic, Zora's torso and head bandages were gone, though Zora still looked pale, probably due to mana exhaustion.

Dr. Owen was nowhere in sight.

"Good morning, Zora," said Kirsch.

Zora looked up from the paper, his usual leather mask still missing. A small smile appeared on Zora's face for a brief moment, causing Kirsch's heart to thump loudly in his chest. "Morning."

"I brought you breakfast."

"Oh thanks, infirmary food is shit," said Zora, folding today's paper and putting in on the side table. Zora made room on the bed by sitting up, properly. Kirsch knew, which is why Charmy was a god-send during the Unrequited Love Curse Incident when so many people were stuck in the infirmary.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kirsch put the basket on the bed in front of him. "I may have gone a bit overboard." It was true that Kirsch made quite a bit of food—12 blueberry muffins, strawberry yogurt parfait with granola, eggs-&-sausage quiche, hash browns and brewed tea which was in a canteen. He almost forgot to put plates, forks, and cups in the basket, but one of his juniors reminded him.

Zora grinned. "I can see that." He grabbed a muffin and took a bite. "You look better than you did yesterday. Did you sleep?"

"I did," said Kirsch, flushing. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The mana exhaustion sucks, but that just means I've got to train more," said Zora. "So, we were interrupted yesterday."

"Yep," said Kirsch. He took out the plates and busied himself by making plates of food, while he spoke, "Um, what are we? Boyfriends, or would you prefer partners?"

Zora shrugged. "Either is fine." And then Zora took the canteen with the tea and the two mugs. "I suppose you told the barrier-boy."

Kirsch flushed. "I did. I hope that was okay." Levi saw the look on Kirsch's face last night and immediately knew what happened. It wasn't like Kirsch would keep it from Levi, as he had been the person to listen to Kirsch's moping and pining self.

"It's fine, I told Magna and Finral last night when they came to visit," said Zora, pouring the tea. "It's safe to say that both our squads know now. And we have to tell Mimosa before she finds out from Noelle."

Kirsch's eyes widened. Mimosa would be so mad that she wasn't the first to know about his and Zora's relationship upgrade. "Yeah, we should do that as soon as possible. Her and my parents. Oh, I guess I'll have to tell my cousins. And my Uncle Aldebrand, Aunt Solace and Aunt Tarian." When the plates had enough quiche and hashbrowns on it, he handed a plate to Zora, who in turn handed a mug of tea to Kirsch.

"Well, you gotta big family, it can't be helped," said Zora.

"True," said Kirsch, nodding. "Though I tell you now that Mother will want to make you come to a proper Sunday supper." It wasn't often that his mother went all out for a big Sunday feast, but she'd definitely want to make one. She did the same thing when Mimosa and Langris started to date.

"Fine, but Charmy will want to do the same," said Zora, rolling his eyes.

"I wouldn't expect any less," said Kirsch, amused at the thought. The Black Bulls, after all, were Zora's family. Kirsch was blessed with a big family and a good squad who he considered his family.

Zora took a bite of the quiche on his plate. "It's good. Thanks for the food."

"You're welcome," said Kirsch, pleased that Zora liked his cooking. He promised Zora that they figure out the relationship stuff together, so he knew he was going to bring up something awkward. "So, uh, how are we going to handle our professional and private relationship?"

Zora paused his eating. "We're gonna have to have awkward conversations with Captain Yami and Captain Dorothy."

"There are rules for inter-squad dating," said Kirsch. He knew the rulebook of the Magic Knights squads backwards and forwards for his duties as Vice-Captain. "Did you notice that Yuno and Captain Charlotte never stay over at your house overnight, but Kahono can and Lady Finesse can live there?"

"Yeah," said Zora, nodding. Zora wasn't stupid so he pieced it together immediately. "Oh. I get it. That makes sense. Can't have squad members in the wrong places all the time when missions need to get done."

Kirsch sighed, "And since I'm a Vice-Captain and you're usually in demand for harder, covert and longer missions, it's gonna be hard to meet up. And Fuegoleon might decide not to put us on co-op missions together anymore."

"Nah, he will. We're too good a team not to pair us up," said Zora, dismissing the thought. He grimaced. "But it's true that our duties as Magic Knights are gonna have to come first. It'll make it harder, but it ain't like we can't find time. We found time as friends, so we'll make it work."

Kirsch smiled. It was music to Kirsch's ears to hear that Zora had faith in them. "You're right. As long as we communicate our feelings and talk when something's wrong, it'll be okay."

After that kind of awkward conversation, they finished eating, with Zora changing the subject to what he read in the papers about Rill and Clarity's engagement. It was nice to eat breakfast with Zora. He had always enjoyed spending time with Zora, but it was better now that Kirsch knew how Zora really felt.

But Kirsch had to leave to attend to his Vice-Captain duties too soon.

"Before I go, I'd like to have a date with you before you run off on your next mission," said Kirsch, packing the dirty dishes away in the basket. He left the remaining muffins for Zora to share with Dr. Owen and other visitors.

Zora agreed. "When I get out of here, it's a date."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kitchens**  
**One Week Later**

"Aww, Vice-Captain is so in love, I think my teeth are gonna rot from the sweetness," stated Cornelia, mockingly, sitting at the kitchen island, next to Levi. The two decided to bug Kirsch while he was in the middle of making dinner for his date with Zora in a few hours. Zora got out of the infirmary yesterday and spent the day at home with the Black Bulls and their fussing over Zora.

"Our little boy is growing up," said Levi, fake-sniffling. "And dating the most dangerous-looking delinquent from the Black Bulls. Where did we go wrong?"

Kirsch glared at them. He threw a biscuit at each of them, which they caught and immediately began to eat. "You're lucky I'm in such a good mood."

"Vice-Captain's gotta a date," teased Cornelia and Levi, in unison, while still eating their biscuits.

"Don't eat with your mouths full! Are you children," scolded Kirsch. It just caused his two friends to burst into laughter. Kirsch just rolled his eyes and scoffed. He'd let them be but just for today. The stew was cooking away, but Kirsch was working on the side dishes and dessert.

It was his first official date with Zora. Kirsch didn't know what to do for dates, having never been on one himself, so he invited Zora over for dinner, thinking it to be the easiest thing. Except, Kirsch had been up at the crack of dawn this morning to figure out what he was going to wear and what he was going to cook.

Thankfully, Mimosa (who he told about his and Zora's upgraded relationship immediately as he could) had guessed that Kirsch would be nervous and came over to help pick out his clothes. Mimosa was armed with recipes from their mother on top of it. He decided that a proper stew dinner was the best way to go since stew was Zora's favorite dish.

It took Kirsch's best convincing to get Zora to come to the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters for the date since Zora constantly told him it "hurt my black and withered soul." And Zora called Kirsch dramatic! Still, Zora relented, especially since the other option was Kirsch going over to the Black Bulls for their first date. Certainly, Kirsch would like to go and do something other than eat with Zora for dates, but it was their first date, so a calm dinner was a good start.

They agreed that whoever did the asking for a date did the planning.

Kirsch turned to Cornelia and Levi. "You two have got things under control while I'm occupied for a few hours with Zora, yeah?"

"Of course," said Levi, smiling widely. "Your first date will go well, Vice-Captain."

"Things will be fine, they always are…for the most part," said Cornelia, nodding her head.

Kirsch sighed. Was he nervous? A little. But he was more excited than nervous. Getting Zora's undivided attention for a few hours would be amazing.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Sun-Room**

Zora had never felt so out of place. The sun-room of the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters was essentially a greenhouse. He already spotted the afternoon sun peeking its way through the clouds. As this headquarters was in the sky and fueled by Captain Dorothy's dream magic, it was to be expected that it was very whimsical. But it was a place that Kirsch liked so Zora would relent this one time for their first date and spend the late afternoon hours with him here.

He was more nervous than he thought he'd be. He barely escaped the well-meaning yet meddlesome Black Bulls. They all had very different ideas on what should constitute a date. He even wore a new outfit that Vanessa had picked out and Noelle had bought. Kirsch was generally put together in very nice outfits, befitting his status as a royal, while Zora walked around in leather pants and no shirt. Noelle and Vanessa insisted, so Zora had no choice but to go and suffer a shopping trip.

Zora had told his friends, but specifically Vanessa and Finral that he and Kirsch would figure out their own ways to spend their dates, thank you very much. He did complete telling them off with a rude gesture that got Zora kicked in the ass by a pissed-off, overprotective ancient dragon for doing such a "vulgar" action in front of the "honorable ladies of the Black Bulls." After that, Finral took pity on him and opened a portal to the Coral Peacocks' HQ for Zora.

Sitting at a two-person table with cutesy plate settings was not something Zora thought he'd ever do in his life.

Then again, Zora never expected to fall in love.

"Sorry for the wait, Zora," said Kirsch, entering the sun-room. He was pushing a cart you'd see at restaurants. "Dinner's ready." Today, Kirsch was dressed in a fine white suit, except for the jacket which was adorned with bright flower patterns. It was a very Kirsch style, though it wasn't as over the top as usual.

Zora smirked, forgetting that he opted not to wear his mask since Zora noticed that his unmasked face made Kirsch very blushy. "You went overboard again, didn't you?"

Kirsch flushed a pretty shade of a red. "Maybe. You can bring the rest home to Charmy."

"And share the food that you made for me? She ain't getting her paws on it," said Zora. He was not sharing with Charmy. The brat ate the rest of his muffins the other day while Zora was napping in the infirmary. Zora had been so annoyed.

Kirsch's face turned a deeper shade of red. Stuttering for some reason, Kirsch said, "Uhh, s-so dinner? I made beef stew, mashed tatoes, roasted garlic broccoli, and biscuits."

"You made my favorites? Then, I'm definitely not sharing," said Zora.

The comment made Kirsch smile, while still blushing. "Ready to eat?"

Kirsch insisted he serve Zora as he was the guest. Zora didn't mind since Kirsch didn't seem to mind. Once he had a bowl of stew and a plate of sides and biscuits in front of him, he was more than a bit impressed. He knew that Kirsch (and Mimosa) knew how to cook because their mother Nickole taught them. But this was more than Zora expected.

Sitting across from him, Kirsch looked at Zora expectantly. "Dig in, Zora! I made plenty."

Zora huffed. He wasted no time and took a biteful of the stew. And it was delicious, of course, he didn't expect any less from Kirsch. He chewed the meat and then realized that this stew tasted familiar. Swallowing his first bite, he took another bite to make sure he wasn't mistaken. And he took another.

The stew tasted just like his dad's.

"Zora? What's wrong? Does it taste bad," Kirsch asked, worriedly. There was no way that Kirsch knew how Zara Ideale made stew. Zora had never, ever mentioned it to anyone in conversation, not even Charmy who made his meals regularly.

Zora was not going to cry on his first date with Kirsch. Kirsch was the person that Zora loved, so he needed to talk to him. Wiping his face with his hands very quickly to stop himself from crying because he missed his dad, Zora looked at Kirsch's worried expression, and said, "It's amazing. I never thought I'd taste it again."

"What," Kirsch asked, confused.

"It tastes just like my dad made it," said Zora. Kirsch's eyes widened and Zora knew that Kirsch must have thought he'd be mad since his dad was a touchy subject for Zora, so Zora quickly said to alleviate Kirsch's fears, "I don't know how you did it, but you have to promise to make it for me again, yeah?"

Kirsch smiled softly. "Of course, Zora, any time you want."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Sun-Room**

Kirsch was gonna have a stern talking to his mother.

After Zora took the first few bites of the stew, Kirsch was sure that he messed it up somehow as Zora's face got strangely sad. He had used the recipe for stew his mother had sent with Mimosa earlier. If Kirsch had known that it was a recipe that somehow matched Zora's dad's stew, he'd have opted for a different kind. Kirsch knew that Zora didn't like talking about his dad much, not even to his closest friends, not even to Kirsch.

But thankfully, Zora hadn't minded and insisted that Kirsch make it again for him.

After that almost disastrous moment, the date went better. Zora looked more comfortable and Kirsch was able to relax enough that conversation went smoother. Besides, everyone felt better when they had a full belly of comforting food and good company. Zora even told him the story of his forced shopping trip with Vanessa and Noelle that morning.

"Explains the suit," said Kirsch. He didn't think Zora even owned a shirt, let alone anything formal or trendy. "But I appreciate it. You look very handsome."

"Aren't I always," said Zora, scoffed. The teasing and bantering that made up much of their friendship had become something flirtier in the week that they had been officially together in a romantic relationship. Things were slowly getting comfortable between them. It was the best feeling.

"Always," agreed Kirsch, smiling.

Zora grinned. "And yet, you're the one who loves me for my personality."

"Pot, kettle, Zora," countered Kirsch.

Zora chuckled. "You got me there. Though, I'd admit you're very cute."

Kirsch dramatically gasped. "Excuse you, I'm beautiful, not cute!"

"Cute. It's your fault such a word is in my vocabulary," replied Zora.

And Kirsch couldn't even fault the logic, because Zora wasn't a man swayed by anyone's appearance. Adjectives such as "Cute," "Beautiful," "Sweet," "Pretty," definitely didn't exist in Zora Ideale's vocabulary until nearly four years ago. "I'll get you to call me beautiful one day."

"I'd like to see you try," said Zora, smirking.

"A challenge I gladly accept," said Kirsch, lightly. He'd make Zora call him "beautiful" one day. "I made apple-spice angel food cake for dessert, do you want some now?"

"Way to change the subject, but yes, that sounds good," said Zora.

Kirsch went to get the cake from the food cart, when there was a loud bang. And Kirsch sighed. They weren't getting to dessert. Zora stood up on alert.

"What was that?"

A frazzled Cornelia came rushing into the sun-room not even moments later. "Sorry to interrupt, Vice-Captain—"

Kirsch interrupted. "Let me guess, it's Lovejoy and Pitney again." Two of the younger members (and by young, Kirsch met they were fifteen and the newest recruits from the Magic Knight Entrance Exams from barely a month ago) in the squad had both come from neighboring minor noble houses and their rivalry was unmanageable so far.

Cornelia made a face. "They got into an argument and then, Pitney summoned a giant spider and then, Lovejoy used an explosion, so we have a giant hole on the east end of the base and it busted the pipes going to the ladies' bathrooms."

Kirsch sighed. "I assume that Barry is trying to suggest to Captain Dorothy to fix the place, while Levi is trying to get our little terrors under control." Cornelia nodded. She looked very bothered.

"And here I thought that the Black Bulls were chaos incarnate," said Zora, shaking his head.

"Well, I guess this date is over, unless you want to help," said Kirsch, looking pitfully at the rest of the meal and at his handsome Zora who put a suit on just for Kirsch.

Zora smirked. "Why not?"

Kirsch smiled. "Let's go!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Outside the Entrance**

"Sorry our date got interrupted," said Kirsch. He looked regretful and he was pouting. They were standing on the steps of the Coral Peacock Headquarters, waiting for Finral to come and pick up Zora via portal.

Kirsch pouting, as it turned out, wasn't good for Zora's willpower because there was nothing he wanted to do other than stay there with Kirsch. Zora shook his head and said, "Nah, we both know that this won't be the only time."

"I know," Kirsch said, sighing. "But did you have fun?"

"Yeah," said Zora. He smirked. "I think your brats might not give you trouble for a bit." The young Coral Peacock members who had caused the chaos that interrupted Kirsch and Zora's first date had still been bickering when Zora and Kirsch arrived at the scene. Zora was more annoyed than he let on, so he set a trap that made them be bombarded with stink bugs. It was too good. The two brats only managed to escape when they worked together.

Kirsch laughed. "Their faces were priceless. Thanks for your help."

"Brats are gonna be brats," said Zora, shrugging. "And thanks for the extra food." He had several containers bundled together to bring back.

"If Miss Charmy and the rest eat it all, I'll make you more," said Kirsch, smiling fondly.

"I'll take you up on that offer," said Zora.

And now the awkwardness of ending a date set in, as Zora watched Kirsch shuffled nervously in place like he wanted to say something or rather, do something. Where was Finral? Of all the times to be late, it just had to be when neither Zora nor Kirsch wanted the date to end but knew it had to end for praticality's sake.

Checking the windows of the Coral Peacock Headquarters for any nosy comrades, which were none thankfully, Zora placed the food containers on the ground. Zora didn't waste any time this time and pulled Kirsch by the hand to kiss him lightly on the lips. It was a quick, simple press of Zora's lips to Kirsch's, but it was way better than the Grimmtowne kiss.

"You're trying to kill me by making my heart burst," whispered Kirsch, leaning in to kiss Zora again. Zora let Kirsch kiss him. This time when they broke apart, Kirsch's face was pink and his golden eyes were getting watery. Zora huffed in amusement and pulled Kirsch into a hug.

"Are you really gonna be crying every time we kiss," teased Zora.

Kirsch grumbled, burying his face in Zora's fancy date suit. "Shut up. I'm just really happy. I love you."

"Fucking hell, I've attached myself to the biggest sap in the world," said Zora, chuckling. The reaffirmation of Kirsch's love made him way too happy. "Love you too." If anyone saw Zora right now hugging Kirsch like tomorrow was never coming, on the stoop of the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters, he'd have to murder them.

Kirsch sighed, happily, gently squeezing Zora in their hug. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Me too. But I've got training tomorrow with Captain Mereoleona," said Zora, grimacing at the reminder.

They let each other go from their hug, but they were still barely a few inches away from each other. Kirsch smiled. "Don't let my cousin kill you."

Zora said, more confidently than he was feeling, "I won't."

"Maybe next time I'll go with you," said Kirsch.

"You on a volcano? Yeah, I'd like to see that," teased Zora. Kirsch shoved Zora playfully. "But I suppose it'd be worth it, if we can suffer together."

Kirsch said, "That's sweet but also terrifying."

Zora snorted and then just started laughing. Kirsch began laughing. They were two dorks, weren't they?

Unfortunately, a portal opened and Finral appeared, "Zora, let's go! Captain Mereoleona is here already and I don't want to die." Zora picked up his food, quickly kissed Kirsch on the cheek and ran through the portal.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Outside the Entrance**

As soon as Zora was gone via magic portal, Kirsch crouched down and held his chest. "Oh my God, I'm gonna die. He's gonna kill me with happiness." His heart was pounding. He hoped that Zora didn't notice. "Aghhh! What the heck? I thought I'd be calmer, but it's worse now."

The date was everything he wanted and more. Kirsch hadn't meant to blurt out an "I love you" again, but he was so ecstatic that Zora said it back again. This was really happening.

"Vice-Captain, please compose yourself before you come back inside," said Levi, trying not to laugh. Kirsch looked over and saw that Levi had the door open, but wasn't outside. "You have punishments to hand out."

"Shut up, Levi."

_~to be continued_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 takes place at the same time as Chapter 4 of Bellflowers (So it takes place during the same War Conferment Ceremony as in that story)

* * *

**A Few Months Later**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**The Capital**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Grand Hall**  
**Day of the War Merits Conferment Ceremony**

Kirsch's cousin, the Wizard King Fuegoleon was as regal as ever, as a handful of Magic Knights stood in the Grand Hall of their headquarters to honor those who had done exceptionally well in the past six months. "Thank you all for coming. Today we recognize the deeds of some of our fellow Magic Knights. Four of our newest Magic Knights even got promotions. We haven't seen that happen in a few years now. So congratulations to our newest Magic Knights-Princess Theodora Kira Clover of the Silver Eagles, Crown Prince Constantine Kira Clover of the Purple Orcas, Miss Maylan Naylor of the Golden Dawn, and Miss Aubrey Waters of the Purple Orcas. But new Magic Knights weren't the only ones embodying the spirit of true Magic Knights. Misters Zora Ideale, Magna Swing and Luck Voltia of the Black Bulls, Lord Leopold Vermillion of the Crimson Lions, and Lady Nebra Silva of the Silver Eagles for all of their continued hard work and determination. Now, I won't bore you with any more of a speech, so please enjoy the food."

Kirsch clapped politely with everyone else. Though he had been disappointed that no one from the Coral Peacocks got a promotion, he was there to be Zora's moral support. It's not every day when your partner got a promotion to 3rd Class Senior Magic Knight. In Kirsch's opinion, it was a promotion long since due to Zora, considering everything he did for the Kingdom.

Originally, Zora hadn't wanted to come, because "I don't do this because I want to be praised," but Kirsch insisted they go to the event, arguing it was to honor Magna and Luck too. Besides, Kirsch loved seeing Zora in a fancy suit. This one Kirsch helped him pick out.

"Thank God that's over," said Zora, impatiently. He stood next to Kirsch. Zora was so gosh-darn handsome in his suit. "Can we go now?"

"Don't you want to eat?"

"I'd rather eat your cooking," said Zora.

"What about celebrating with our friends," Kirsch asked, slightly chiding his partner of four months.

"I see them all the time," Zora argued. "And I just got back from a mission last night, shoved in a fancy suit and stuck in a fancy room with people who annoy me, when I could be catching up _privately_ with my cute partner that I hadn't seen since our shopping trip date three weeks ago."

Kirsch paused. It was true that they hadn't seen each other in three weeks, due to the influx of missions in the time before the War Merits Conferment Ceremony. And it didn't help that there were some rumblings of succession issues for Crown Princess Klotide of the Diamond Kingdom that might spill over into the eastern part of Clover, if they weren't careful. Kirsch had gotten back two days ago himself from protection detail for the emissary to the Diamond Kingdom from the Clover Kingdom.

And dang it, Kirsch really missed Zora too.

"Well, we should stay for another ten minutes to congratulate everyone and then we can go," compromised Kirsch. It would be rude to leave too early.

Zora smirked. "I can live with that."

True to his word, Zora did make sure to give some words of praise and also some criticism to everyone who had gotten a promotion. Because that's Zora for you, Kirsch watched fondly as the younger Magic Knights took Zora's words seriously. The girl from the Golden Dawn even took notes. Exactly ten minutes later, Zora was dragging Kirsch out of the Grand Hall, which Kirsch didn't mind in the least.

Holding Zora's hand as they walked was the best.

"Someone's in a hurry," said Kirsch, teasingly.

Zora's mask hid most of his face, but Zora's ears turned red when he blushed. "The house is empty, including Henry who took a room out of the house with him to go bird watching with Secre."

Kirsch's eyes widened as Zora gripped Kirsch's hand a little tighter. "Zora, lead with that next time!" He had the afternoon off from his Vice-Captain duties too.

Zora said, "Well, hurry. Who knows how long that'll last?"

Quiet, time and privacy were hard to come by so they had to jump on this chance. Kirsch quickened his pace, wishing for once that Finral had come today instead of a date with Finesse. "Oh, wait."

"What," Zora asked, irritably.

"I forgot to tell you today," said Kirsch, smiling. "I love you."

Zora faltered for a moment and said, "Love you too. Now, move your cute ass, I wanna nap."

Kirsch laughed. "You read my mind, Zora."

_~fin for now_

_**Zora and Kirsch's journey, together, continues soon…**_

* * *

Notes:

Thanks so much for reading everyone! I know I'm the only who writes Zora/Kirsch, so I'm glad that others like reading about them.

The Next Installment of the Gladiolus series will begin Sept. 12th. Zora and Kirsch will definitely feature in it.


End file.
